Living Well and Planning for the end of your life

Living Well is a person-centered approach to supporting people to live well with a long-term condition.
It also provides a structure to help people think about and plan for the end of life.

What is Living Well?

The key component of Living Well is the workbook, which guides people through a suite of person-centered thinking tools.

Click see an example of a completed Living Well workbook 

The workbook supports an open yet purposeful conversation with the person to help them think about what really matters to them. Once completed, it helps them to think about what practical steps they need to take to make the changes they want to see in their life.

Talking about end of life

This same guided approach also facilitates what can often be difficult conversations around the end of life, ensuring that both practical and personal preferences and decisions have been thought about and planned. This ensures that both the person and their family are able to exercise choice and control over how they wish to be supported at this time.

Who can work with a person to complete the Living Well workbook?

The Living Well workbook can be filled in by the person on their own however it is best for the person to work through the tools with family, friends or staff who support them. This can be on a 1:1 or in a small group, depending on what the person feels most comfortable with.

What does the workbook cover?

The Living Well workbook supports a conversation to happen around a range of themes, including:

  • Relationships
  • What makes a good and bad day
  • What is important to a person and how to best support them
  • What is working and not working in their life, and what they’d like to change
  • Wishes and desires for the future
  • End-of-life preferences
  • How the person would like to be remembered
  • What decisions will need to be made, and how the person must be involved


You can see an example of a completed Living Well workbook here.

To order copies of Person-Centered Thinking: End of Life minibooks contact julie@helensandersonassociates.com