Bereavement Counseling
Therapeutics for End of Life
Planning an end of life is very daunting and complicated task for the client, family, and counselor (Wong, Hall, Justice, & Hernandez, 2015). Professionals need to take the time to find out what type of rituals does the clients partaken whether it’s religious or not. Grieving persons that believe in or has a relationship with a higher power or God or practices faith beliefs is known to have lesser levels of grief tension during bereavement Juntenen and Schwartz (2016). Counsels can include spirituality or belief in the end of life planning. An empirical therapeutic intervention called life review is a great tool for counselors to use in the end of life planning. This therapeutic review focuses on individuals association with spirituality (Wong, Hall, Justice, & Hernandez, 2015). If the counselor is not competent or comfortable discussing particular religions they can refer the client to a faith go-between or a Chaplin Juntenen and Schwartz (2016).
Psalms71;9 Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone.
Bereavement Counseling
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This portion concerns counselor getting consent from their clients before they consult or get records from another professional. It also advises the professional to get the history of the client and the previous professional relationship furthermore the new professional should advise the client the prospects that starting a new counseling relationship can be a gamble or beneficial (Association for Death Education and Counseling, 2004). Another advice provided to the counselor is to properly document any resource that the client uses along with getting the client to consent of any exchanged information concerning the
This article can be used as a way to further support my argument about how most patients don’t utilize all of the benefits that hospice has to offer. There are some cases where people choose not to receive spiritual support due to
One of the most difficult yet, pivotal times in a person 's’ life is when they are reaching the end of their life’s journey. A common coping mechanism utilized in the current hospice care system is spiritual care. However, when patients and their families hear the word “spirituality” they often think this type of care focuses exclusively on religious affiliations. While a person’s religious views greatly influence one’s spirituality, many researchers agree a person’s spirituality can take on a variety forms and meanings. For example, some people view their spirituality in a religious form, while others view their spirituality in a more general and non-religious form, which can make a hospice social worker, or chaplain’s job challenging at times. Because the current elderly society is rapidly growing in numbers, it is critical that further research is concentrated on the training and social work curriculum of spiritual care, so hospice social workers can become more culturally and spiritually competent, and ultimately possess the proper skills to adequately offer spiritual assistance as an option to ease the death, dying and grieving process for patients and their families.
Death is inevitable. It is one of the only certainties in life. Regardless, people are often uncomfortable discussing death. Nyatanga (2016) posits that the idea of no longer existing increases anxiety and emotional distress in relation to one’s mortality. Because of the difficulty in level of care for end-of-life patients, the patient and the family often need professional assistance for physical and emotional care. Many family caregivers are not professionally trained in medicine, and this is where hospice comes into play. Hospice aims to meet the holistic needs of both the patient and the patient’s family through treatment plans, education, and advocacy. There is a duality of care to the treatment provided by hospice staff in that they do not attempt to separate the patient’s care from the family’s care. Leming and Dickinson (2011) support that hospice, unlike other clinical fields, focuses on the patient and the family together instead of seeing the patient independent of the family. Many times in hospitals, the medical team focuses solely on the goal of returning the patient back to health in order for them to return to their normal lives. They do not take into account the psychological and spiritual components of the patient’s journey and the journey that the family must take as well. For treatment of the patient, Leming and Dickinson agree that hospice does not attempt to cure patients, and instead concentrates solely
A spiritual and psychological inventory can be useful in helping someone to determine their current state of wellness. Kathleen Dowling Singh (2000) talks about how a spiritual assessment is helpful when people are close to dying as they begin to honestly and urgently examine their lives. Singh (2000) also suggests that regardless of how much time we have left to live, answering the questions in a spiritual inventory will help provide direction to our lives. The following questions were developed for this purpose and were used for an interview, the responses from the interview follows in Appendix A.
The codes addresses situations in counseling where confidentiality breaks in situations where a client dies, the counselor continues to protect the client’s confidentiality, unless specific legal requirements call for it (p. 7). Or if the client gives consent, third-party payers may receive information (p. 7). Additionally, the ACA provides information when working with families and couples. It points out the importance in defining who the client actually is, such as the marriage or the family being the client, not all of the individuals involved serve as a client (p. 7). Also, the code stresses the importance of when breaking confidentiality to protect any and all identifying information of the client, if a counselor seeks out consultation on a certain case (p. 8).
Ando, M., & Morita, T. (2010). Efficacy of the structured life review and the short-term life review on the spiritual well-being of terminally ill cancer patients. Health. 2010;02(04):342–6.
The authors argue that spirituality, inclusive of religiosity, is correlated with patients’ experienced depression and anxiety at end of life.
It is only human and natural to feel hopelessness and despair as one gets closer to the grave. Religion is an important part of coping with this desperateness. Incorporating a deeper understanding and practicing religion helps with understanding life and death. Spirituality may be one of the most important components mental, spiritual and social health as one crawls towards end of life (Dose, (2007). A study by Dose, (2007) looked at experiences of spirituality in older adults at the end of their life, especially those receiving hospice care. Participants were asked about their “spiritual journey”. The study concluded that spirituality is important to most of the participants of the study and shaped their views in terms of correctness and moving on. A view of life in terms of religion and spirituality was important to them as they neared the end (Dose, 2007). They also found that spirituality helped with coping with their pain and reduced the stress of being
Losing a loved one can be a traumatic situation in anyone's life. The bereavement process can take a tremendous toll on a person. There are no gender, age, sex, color or religion specifics that dictate the length of grievance, it all depends on the individual. The loss of loved one brings grim magnitudes for the body and the emotional state of a person and can sometimes be so extreme that it can alter the health of a human being. Grief counseling eases the bereavement process by providing patients many methods that will assist in dealing with the pain throughout their life. In multiculturalism people deal with the loss of a loved one in many forms, what may seem barbaric for one culture is normal in another and what a counselor may suggest
For health care providers to deliver the best holistic care that patients deserve, a thorough spiritual assessment must be included during their care. With more research showing a relationship between supporting a patient’s spirituality with their health and ability to cope with illness, it is now a requirement of organizations to include a spiritual assessment to maintain accreditation with The Joint Commission. The minimum required of a spiritual assessment by The Joint Commission is to determine the patient’s religion and
Amongst the many adventures of Hugo, he runs into a girl named Isabelle, who also lost both of her parents at a young age. Although neither child knew of the others past initially upon meeting, I do believe it brought them together in a special way. There is not much of a difference between a counselor and a counseling camp, such as bereavement camps, in the same way that there is not a difference between a person who has and hasn’t lost a parent, other than the circumstance of course. However, despite the minuscule disparity, people have a way of sensing whom they can relate and confined in and I believe that is what Hugo and Isabelle felt with one another. The article continues to confer among similar topics, all of which I could relate back
Grief counseling is a division of social work that involves the interpersonal aspect of the social worker’s role as expert in coping with death. In this paper I will define grief counseling and some ways to cope with loss. Next I will discuss the history and seven stages of grief. There are two main forms of grievers which are intuitive and instrumental. In addition there are four major types of grief which are acute, anticipatory, sudden and complicated. The helping process is explained as well as some disorders related to grief. A current trend for grievers is to seek involvement in programs such as the Canadian Cancer Society, Missing Children of Canada and Victim Services. These organizations provide counseling services and crisis
Loss is a phenomenon that is experienced by all. Death is experienced by family members as a unique and elevated form of loss which is modulated by potent stages of grief. Inevitably, everyone will lose someone with whom they had a personal relationship and emotional connection and thus experience an aftermath that can generally be described as grief. Although bereavement, which is defined as a state of sorrow over the death or departure of a loved one, is a universal experience it varies widely across gender, age, and circumstance (definitions.net, 2015). Indeed the formalities and phases associated with bereavement have been recounted and theorized in literature for years. These philosophies are quite diverse but
Spirituality is a delicate topic, and some may not be open to talking about their beliefs. Spirituality is generally understood to be an essential aspect of being human (Lyndo-Lam, 2012). Assessing the spiritual needs of patients is a key component in the nursing process. A compassionate and thoughtful nurse can make a patient feel more secure, making it easier for him to express his spirituality. The participation of both patient and health care provider is vital in promoting spiritual health. The main focus of a spiritual assessment is to gather information regarding the patient’s spiritual needs in order incorporate them into the plan of care, so as to treat
Ethical issues in a counseling practice lay the foundation of a therapist in practice. Ethics are at the center of how the counseling process functions and operates in a successful manner for the clients who seek help in such a setting. In order for the counseling profession to be ethical and hold professional recognition, there are many facets that need to be examined and outlined to make sure all counselors and practitioners are functioning at the highest level and withholding their duties required by the counseling profession. The first introduction so to speak of the area of ethics also happens to be one of the first steps in counseling, which is the informed consent. The informed consent provides the basis of what happens or will be