The book The Complete Guide to Crisis and Trauma Counseling: What to Do and Say When It Matters Most! By Dr. H. Norman Wright discusses the impacts of trauma and crises in individuals and families. Individuals dealing with loss and grief need to undergo adequate counseling, especially through spiritual leaders who form part of the support system (Wright, 2011). Wright addresses the details of loss and grief in chapters ten to thirteen where he discusses what to do “When Time Doesn’t Heal All Wounds”; the role of the religious leader in “Helping the Trauma Victim”; “The Crisis of Death”; and the different kinds of “Deaths You Will Encounter”.
In chapter ten, the author acknowledges that the passing of time might be useful in helping to ease the grief and provides an avenue for individuals to move on from loss. However, the tactic of sitting back and waiting for time to elapse has been shown to contribute minimally to coping with loss (Wright, 2011). Thus, the author encourages religious counselors to aid individuals in developing coping skills integral in acceptance of a loss and working towards healing. Specific strategies are more crucial than waiting for time to elapse (Wright, 2011). Thus, the individual undergoing counseling should be made aware that the goal is not to forget the loss but to accept it; thereby allowing themselves an opportunity to move forward from the pain.
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In chapter eleven, the author provides various strategies that might be used to help the victim of a traumatic event. Although trauma might be associated with death, some traumatic events are associated with near-death experiences or witnessing horrific actions. Regardless, the author notes that the religious counselor must be willing to accommodate the victim of trauma and engage them in active listening (Wright, 2011). Specifically, the counselor must design exercises and simulations that help the victim understand the experiences, accept them, and cope with the fears and memories associated with the traumatic events.
In chapter twelve, the author discusses the crisis of death. In previous chapters, Wright notes the impacts of death to communities and families, and the process of helping the victim. However, chapter twelve is dedicated to discussing the phenomenon of death and provides a unique perspective to the concept of death (Wright, 2011). The author notes that counselors should understand death and internalize its meaning. From such a perspective, they will can empathize with victims since the crisis of death is internalized.
Finally, the author discusses the various kinds of death one will encounter as a religious counselor. Depending on how a person died, victims showcase various kinds of griefs and sense of loss. Various kinds of deaths include natural deaths, accidental deaths, suicides, homicides and undetermined deaths. The author encourages religious counselors to remember that each type of death impacts victims differently, at the basic level of understanding loss (Wright, 2011). For instance, suicides are often associated with a great sense of guilt for individuals who feel the loss. Thus, religious counselors must understand and become aware of the coping strategies to teach the individuals, as opposed to those who lost a loved one through terminal illness.
Reference
Wright, H. N. (2011). The Complete Guide to Crisis and Trauma Counseling: What to do and say when it matters most!. Bethany House Publishers.
