Grief Therapy Intervention
Shanita Dopson
SOWK 617: Dr. Mathews
Salisbury University
Introduction
Grief is fundamentally an emotional response to death and loss, such as loneliness, fear, sadness, anxiety, anger, mistrustfulness, guilt, etc. (Barbato & Irwin, 1992). Apart from emotional disturbances, physical symptoms, such as tight feelings in the throat and chest, oversensitivity to noise, breathlessness, muscular weakness and lack of energy are responses of grief (Barbato & Irwin, 1992). Every child deals with and reacts to mourning the loss of someone or something differently. Worden (1991) described the vast repertoire of behaviours under four general categories; emotional response, physical sensations, altered cognitions, …show more content…
The first four sessions are solely focused on the client and individual therapy. The last four meetings are based on family sessions. The client is obligated to attend four face-to-face counseling sessions which meet 2 days a week for 60 minutes. The social worker initially wanted to get an informal evaluation of the client’s feelings, thoughts, and mental state. The social worker assessed that the client is in an emotional unstable state. Grief therapy is the main intervention technique along with art therapy that will be used as coping mechanisms to help the client deal with the loss. There are four tasks suggested for handling grief, which consist of accepting the reality of the loss, working through the pain of grief, adjusting to an environment in which the deceased is missing, and emotionally relocating the deceased and moving on with life (Worden, 1991). These tasks will be the foundation for assisting the client with the grieving process. Near the end of the sessions, the social worker and client reviewed the coping strategies and agreed they would be beneficial after therapy termination. Family therapy will be incorporated in the last several sessions and the client will be connected with group therapy to provide ongoing …show more content…
The social worker began the session by explaining the legal aspects of confidentiality and her duty as a mandated reporter. Next, the social worker asked the client what she hoped to gain from the sessions to gain a better assessment of the client’s needs. The client responded that she wanted the feelings toward the loss of her family to go away. Next, the social worker introduced an activity to build rapport, trust, and make the client more comfortable. The client and the social worker played the alphabet game taking turns calling out fruits and vegetables from A-Z. This game allowed the client to become a little bit more comfortable and responsive around the social worker. Also, it was a subject the client was familiar with since her father was a farmer. Both sessions focused primarily on understanding the client’s feelings, thoughts and storytelling through art. The social worker encouraged the client to create a “memory book” by drawing, painting or cutting pictures from magazines in efforts to help the client discuss the loss. Art therapy is a very effective and therapeutic way to express emotions and grief. The social worker and client made a team effort to make the “memory book”. There were a total of five pictures in the client’s book. The social worker invited the client to explain the significance of each picture. This is part of the acceptance
Shanita Dopson
SOWK 617: Dr. Mathews
Salisbury University
Introduction
Grief is fundamentally an emotional response to death and loss, such as loneliness, fear, sadness, anxiety, anger, mistrustfulness, guilt, etc. (Barbato & Irwin, 1992). Apart from emotional disturbances, physical symptoms, such as tight feelings in the throat and chest, oversensitivity to noise, breathlessness, muscular weakness and lack of energy are responses of grief (Barbato & Irwin, 1992). Every child deals with and reacts to mourning the loss of someone or something differently. Worden (1991) described the vast repertoire of behaviours under four general categories; emotional response, physical sensations, altered cognitions, …show more content…
The first four sessions are solely focused on the client and individual therapy. The last four meetings are based on family sessions. The client is obligated to attend four face-to-face counseling sessions which meet 2 days a week for 60 minutes. The social worker initially wanted to get an informal evaluation of the client’s feelings, thoughts, and mental state. The social worker assessed that the client is in an emotional unstable state. Grief therapy is the main intervention technique along with art therapy that will be used as coping mechanisms to help the client deal with the loss. There are four tasks suggested for handling grief, which consist of accepting the reality of the loss, working through the pain of grief, adjusting to an environment in which the deceased is missing, and emotionally relocating the deceased and moving on with life (Worden, 1991). These tasks will be the foundation for assisting the client with the grieving process. Near the end of the sessions, the social worker and client reviewed the coping strategies and agreed they would be beneficial after therapy termination. Family therapy will be incorporated in the last several sessions and the client will be connected with group therapy to provide ongoing …show more content…
The social worker began the session by explaining the legal aspects of confidentiality and her duty as a mandated reporter. Next, the social worker asked the client what she hoped to gain from the sessions to gain a better assessment of the client’s needs. The client responded that she wanted the feelings toward the loss of her family to go away. Next, the social worker introduced an activity to build rapport, trust, and make the client more comfortable. The client and the social worker played the alphabet game taking turns calling out fruits and vegetables from A-Z. This game allowed the client to become a little bit more comfortable and responsive around the social worker. Also, it was a subject the client was familiar with since her father was a farmer. Both sessions focused primarily on understanding the client’s feelings, thoughts and storytelling through art. The social worker encouraged the client to create a “memory book” by drawing, painting or cutting pictures from magazines in efforts to help the client discuss the loss. Art therapy is a very effective and therapeutic way to express emotions and grief. The social worker and client made a team effort to make the “memory book”. There were a total of five pictures in the client’s book. The social worker invited the client to explain the significance of each picture. This is part of the acceptance