Dave Case Study
As the grief counselor, discuss what your first meeting with the family would be like.
As a grief counselor, the first meeting with Dave's family would be to create a trusting relationship. I would create a relationship with Dave's wife, children, mother, and sisters to sustain a comfortable environment in which they can openly share their experiences of grief. I would start the meeting by introducing myself and requesting a brief introduction of the family members to understanding their relationship with Dave. After that, I would generally talk about loss and grief as I narrow down to the burden of terminal illnesses on families and individuals to prepare Dave's family emotionally and psychologically. I would conduct the first meeting in a separate room away from Dave to minimize the trauma that the family members might get from seeing Dave suffering.
The second step would be to allow the family members to talk about Dave and how they relate to him. Smith et al. (2020) note that people with grief need to talk about their loss but often lack people to listen. Therefore, I would listen actively as every family member narrates how Dave impacted their lives directly or indirectly. In this session, I would specific questions about how each member feels about Dave's health condition and what it means to them. Since Dave would not be dead yet, I would restrain the conversation to his terminal illness and not his death to create a smooth process for the family members to accept the probable loss.
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Identify and discuss in detail the impact of this terminal illness on 4 different persons/groups of persons in the case. Dave should be included as one of these persons.
Psychological problems such as high levels of stress and depression will impact every member of Dave's family. As Wittenberg et al. (2013) note, terminal illness in a family causes stress as the family has to readjust and adapt to the absence of the sick individual. Dave's wife will be impacted by role reallocation as she will have to take care of the two children alone. Also, the wife is likely to experience emotional and psychological distress considering her intimate relationship with Dave. Consequently, she might experience loneliness and psychological stressors such as nightmares and absent-mindedness. Dave’s children would be anxious and devastated about seeing their father suffer and probably die. The children will find it difficult to adjust to new ways of life that might be characterized by emotional or financial struggles if Dave was the breadwinner.
Dave’s mother and sisters will be emotionally burdened since they have related for many years with Dave. The mother feels the emotional and psychological pain of losing a child while the sisters suffer the loss of a sibling. The mother and the sisters experience role reallocation as they have to reschedule their duties to take care of Dave. Consequently, the mother the sisters are likely to have financial challenges as they spend considerable time taking care of Dave. Also, Dave’s illness will cause trauma as the family witness as Dave suffers at home. Dave should also be included as one of the people suffering from a terminal illness. Patients with terminal illness have fears and concerns about their families and friends as they think of how those left behind will manage in their absence (Nieuwmeyer & Hosking, 2006; Nguyen, 2012). Moreover, Dave has depression due to intense suffering and the thoughts of death. According to Cirino (2018), about 77% of patients with terminal illnesses often experience depression. Therefore, the depression that Dave suffers from is a result of suffering.
Discuss the type of grief and losses being experienced by the different person/group of persons.
All members of Dave's family are experiencing anticipatory grief as they are grieving an impending loss of a family member. Anticipatory grief is the feeling of loss people experience when they expect to lose something they value (Roldan, 2021). Since Dave is anticipated to die, the family members grieve in anticipation for Dave to succumb to the terminal illness. Besides, the whole family is experiencing collective grief since Dave's illness and probable death is causing a sense of hopelessness and despair for all people. The entire family is experiencing normal grief and loss that often accompanies trauma of terminal illnesses and death. In addition, the family may be experiencing disenfranchised grief as they cannot openly grief as Dave is not yet dead. According to Roldan (2021), disenfranchised grief can be termed as hidden grief as society may find it inappropriate for Dave's wife, children, mother, and sisters to grief when Dave is still alive.
The wife, mother, and sisters are experiencing traumatic grief as they take care of Dave at home. As Roldan (2021) explains, the people around dying people may have thought of how they are feeling or suffering during their final moments. Besides, Dave’s wife and mother are experiencing masked grief as they try to appear stronger. Dave’s wife is trying to save face for the children while the mother is trying to appear emotionally and psychologically stronger for Dave’s sisters, wife, and children.
Outline the kind of support/intervention the grief counselor will be providing to the different person(s).
The grief counselor will support the family by helping them to overcome the trauma of Dave's sickness and probable death. The counselor will distinguish the family's grief from trauma and address guilt that some of the family members might have developed. Grief counselors should try to reframe the circumstances that the family members have experienced that might cause trauma. The counselor will readjust the family member’s perception of the traumatizing memories and prepare them for proper grief. Also, the counselor will encourage the family to overcome guilt as some may blame themselves for Dave’s health condition to enable healthy grief and faster recovery.
Moreover, the grief counselor will help the family accept the new reality and readjust to life without Dave. The counselor may not plan for the family readjustment but may advise the family of the best ways to cope with the loss. Lastly, the grief counselor will build a support system around the family that will help them to overcome grief and loss (Smith et al., 2020). The support system can include friends of the family or other family members who are not directly affected by the loss.
Critical Thinking and Case Writing
The loss of a pet may cause grief and an emotional sense of loss to the owner, especially if they had built a relationship over time. However, after losing the pet, the owner might have disenfranchised grief since other people may consider grieving over a pet to be unworthy and unacceptable. Losing a pet may not seem like a reasonable cause of grief since the pet was just an animal. Also, losing a job or a business can cause grief to some people if they were loyal to their positions and had built a sense of ownership. After the loss, the individual can suffer disenfranchised grief as the people around do not consider losing a job or business as a worthy reason to moan and grief since it is not equivalent to losing a person.
The death of a celebrity can be a real cause of grief that may not be approved by family or society. Celebrities have a massive impact on the life of many people globally. Essentially, some people adopt ways of life copied from the celebrity they follow. Therefore, the loss of the celebrity can lead to loss of identity and grief that may not be approved by the people around. The family and society may not understand the relationship between an individual and a celebrity they have never interacted with or met. Also, the loss of an unborn child through abortion or miscarriage can cause disenfranchised grief. Society may not approve of the relationship between a woman and the unborn child. Therefore, grieving after the loss of an unborn child may be unacceptable to many people in society.
References
Cirino, E. (2018). Depression in the face of a terminal illness and death. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/depression/terminal-illness
Nguyen, K. (2012). Exploring patient perspective at end of life: Qualitative interviews with terminally ill patients. Yale University (Thesis).
Nieuwmeyer, S., & Hosking, M. (2006). Counselling the terminally ill—Can we prepare for death? South African Family Practice , 48 (6), 20–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/20786204.2006.10873405
Roldan, K. (2021, April 7). Types of grief: The 16 ways people grieve . USURNS Online. https://www.usurnsonline.com/grief-loss/types-of-grief/
Smith, M., Robinson, L., & Segal, J. (2020). Helping someone who’s grieving. Help Guide. https://www.helpguide.org/articles/grief/helping-someone-who-is-grieving.htm
Wittenberg, E., Saada, A., & Prosser, L. A. (2013). How illness affects family members: A qualitative interview survey. The Patient , 6 (4), 257–268. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40271-013-0030-3
