Counseling for Justine’s Loss One of the most traumatic events that a couple can suffer is the death of a child. This loss disrupts the entire dynamic of the family. It leaves the parents feelings ripped apart and puts a great amount of tension and stress on a marriage. If you think about it, burying a child goes against the natural order of things. A parent hopes that after a long and fruitful life, his/her child will be putting their cadaver to rest, not laying their young child to rest after a short life. Justine and Erick have been married for a little over ten years and had an 8-year-old daughter named Jade. On Saturday morning, Erick was driving Jade to soccer practice when another driver ran a red light and hit the side of their car.
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Justine feels like it is her fault that Jade was killed in a car accident, but she is attributing her self-loathing to Erick and disowning her own material. Gestalt therapy focuses on person-centered consciousness and immediate experience. Furthermore, it places an importance on acknowledging their responsibility for her behavior. This confrontational approach developed by Fritz and Laura Perls, will focus on the root causes of Justine’s emotions towards Erick and boost self-awareness to give Justine better control over her life. Justine will assume more personal responsibility with her greater self-acceptance and will be more authentic in relating to Erick, who also lost his daughter. The therapist will focus on Justine’s current thought for the only part that can be influenced is the present (Corey, 2009). In order to do that, the therapist must aid Justine to comprehend what she is feeling that moment as well as develop exercises to put Justine in the situation she is stuck in so that she can work it out for herself. Justine must be encouraged to accept thoughts, feelings, and actions as a part of the self instead of denying, blaming Erick, projecting, and displacing responsibility for her experience (Gestalt therapy, 2004). Justine will re-experience the episode in her life that brought on her difficulties, the death of Jade. This is a point in her life where Justine is stuck and has unfinished business, which is the incomplete grieving of death of Jade that is partnered with her sadness and mourning that Justine never fully experienced (Corey, 2009; Gestalt therapy, 2004). Justine’s therapist will not as “why” questions for that will only push her to justify and rationalize her projected anger towards Erick. As an alternative, Justine will be pushed to bring full awareness to the loss of Jade and stay with “whatever is in the foreground,” (Gestalt therapy,
Justine feels like it is her fault that Jade was killed in a car accident, but she is attributing her self-loathing to Erick and disowning her own material. Gestalt therapy focuses on person-centered consciousness and immediate experience. Furthermore, it places an importance on acknowledging their responsibility for her behavior. This confrontational approach developed by Fritz and Laura Perls, will focus on the root causes of Justine’s emotions towards Erick and boost self-awareness to give Justine better control over her life. Justine will assume more personal responsibility with her greater self-acceptance and will be more authentic in relating to Erick, who also lost his daughter. The therapist will focus on Justine’s current thought for the only part that can be influenced is the present (Corey, 2009). In order to do that, the therapist must aid Justine to comprehend what she is feeling that moment as well as develop exercises to put Justine in the situation she is stuck in so that she can work it out for herself. Justine must be encouraged to accept thoughts, feelings, and actions as a part of the self instead of denying, blaming Erick, projecting, and displacing responsibility for her experience (Gestalt therapy, 2004). Justine will re-experience the episode in her life that brought on her difficulties, the death of Jade. This is a point in her life where Justine is stuck and has unfinished business, which is the incomplete grieving of death of Jade that is partnered with her sadness and mourning that Justine never fully experienced (Corey, 2009; Gestalt therapy, 2004). Justine’s therapist will not as “why” questions for that will only push her to justify and rationalize her projected anger towards Erick. As an alternative, Justine will be pushed to bring full awareness to the loss of Jade and stay with “whatever is in the foreground,” (Gestalt therapy,