grief as a process

Grief is a multifaceted response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone or something that has died, to which a bond or affection was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, it also has physical, cognitive, behavioral, social, cultural, spiritual and philosophical dimensions. While the terms are often used interchangeably, bereavement refers to the state of loss, and grief is the reaction to that loss.

Grief is a natural response to loss. It is the suffering one feels when something or someone the individual loves is taken away. The grief associated with death is familiar to most people, but individuals grieve in connection with a variety of losses throughout their lives, such as unemployment, ill health or the end of a relationship.^[2] Loss can be categorized as either physical or abstract,^[3] the physical loss being related to something that the individual can touch or measure, such as losing a spouse through death, while other types of loss are abstract, and relate to aspects of a person’s social interactions

grief as a process ORDER NOW FOR AN ORIGINAL PAPER!!!

Please no plagiarism and make sure you are able to access all resource on your own before you bid. One of the references must come from Broderick and Blewitt (2015). I need this completed today at 7pm. Respond to at least three of your colleagues using one or more of the following approaches:

· Offer and support an alternative perspective using readings from the course or from your own research in the Walden Library.

· Validate an idea with your own experience and additional research.

· Expand on your colleague’s posting by providing additional insights or contrasting perspectives based on readings and evidence.

1. (A. Wit)

Losing a loved one is a significant life event.  There are many different theories on grief and bereavement.  Bowlby describes grief as a process that moves through the stages of shock, protest, despair, and reorganization (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).  Recent research on grief suggests that emotional and behavioral symptoms are not predictable, nor do they need to occur in a linear fashion (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).  Counselors that are helping individuals cope with a loss should consider the developmental and cultural influences of each family member rather than prescribe a single grief process strategy.

Factors influencing individual reactions to illness and death

This assignment focuses on the differences in the grief process among family members.  The case study describes a family of six: father, Victor; mother, Isabelle; son, Paul (51); daughter, Sophia (49); daughter, Lenore (45); and son, Joseph (45).  Victor has just passed away after a difficult two-year battle with pancreatic cancer (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).  Unique factors influence how each family member is grieving.

Isabelle:  older adult, married for 53-years (developmental factors); mother, co-worker, caregiver (social, resiliency factors); Italian (cultural factor)

Paul:  Middle-aged adult, married, father with young children (developmental factors); loving son, business owner, oldest child (social, resiliency factors); Italian (cultural factor)

Sophia: Middle-aged adult, married, mother with young children (developmental factors); working parent (social, resiliency factors); Italian (cultural factor)

Lenore: Middle-aged adult, divorced and remarried, mother (developmental factors); Italian (cultural factor)

Joseph: Middle-aged adult, in a long-term relationship, no children (developmental factors); lives away from the family (social, resiliency factors); Italian (cultural factor)

One factor that influences the family system is conflict over how the family handles Victor’s final stages of life.  Victor had no living will or advance directive.  Isabelle told her children that Victor did not want life support measures to be used to keep him alive.  When Victor succumbed to a coma, Joseph insisted on the insertion of a ventilator without the support of his three siblings.  Since Victor’s death, the relationship between Joseph and his siblings has deteriorated.  Isabelle has quit her job and has trouble concentrating and sleeping.

Coping strategies for the family system

Helping professionals must be willing to meet clients where they are.  The dual-process model of grief suggests that most people coping with the loss of a loved one will oscillate between a loss-focused stage and a restoration-focused stage (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).  Each family member in the case study will move between these stages with different frequency.  The counselor might consider brief psychodynamic interventions for the siblings and cognitive behavioral therapy for Isabelle.  Research on family systems and grief suggest that conflict within the family constellation should also be considered (Welford, 2014).  According to Welford (2014), reinforcing healthy boundaries in the family system can lead to positive outcomes after a loss.  The counseling process may include a systems approach to understanding the roles and rules of the family prior to Victor’s untimely death.

Summary

There is no right way to grieve.  Coping with loss in an inevitable life event for all people.  Counselors that do grief work should consider cultural and developmental factors that influence the client’s needs.  For some individuals a cathartic period of reminiscing is helpful, and for others, minimizing negative emotions is beneficial (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).  Counselors should be aware of how conflict among family members may influence bereavement.  Helping professionals should consider multidimensional approaches that consider developmental, cultural, and interpersonal factors.

References

Broderick, P. C., & Blewitt, P. (2015). The life span: Human development for helping professionals (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education

Welford, E. (2014).  Giving the dead their rightful place: grief work with the family system.  Transactional Analysis Journal, 44(4), 320.

2. (S. Mor)

Death is a part of life that is inevitable, however it still hurts us to the core regardless if we are expecting it or it happens suddenly. I overheard a person on an elevator one day explain how to move on when a loved one dies. He said we never really get over our loved ones that pass, we just learn how to live without them and keep moving on. I think about my Father and Grandparents each and every day, and the pain from their deaths still hurts. I believe we learn how to keep going but we never forget. When loved ones die that we are close to it is best to remain non-judgmental because everyone grieves differently. Several factors will take place as each family member faces the death that has occurred. Also keep in mind coping with death varies according to the effects the death has on the individual that is grieving. In our case study Isabelle and Victor have been together for 53 years, and produced four children that have lost their Father to pancreatic cancer (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).

Factors Driving Each Family Member

Death of a family member, close friends, and even strangers is hard to face and accept. The emotions that run through your mind are stressors that appear to be unbearable. Questions run rampant with thoughts of how do I go on or did I treat them right before they passed. Isabelle had been married to Victor for 53 years, and this is the vast majority of her life. Letting go or allowing Victor to pass without medical heroics to save his life has become Isabelle’s driving force in the wake of her husband’s death. Paul the oldest child has been forced into becoming the leader, because this is expected from the oldest child regardless if he likes it or not. In the article “Working Through Grief” by Angela Kennedy, she explains that grief and depression is not the same thing and physicians have to stop prescribing depression medicines for grief stricken individuals (Kennedy, 2008). Emotions and feelings that are surfacing have the potential to work themselves out, but each family member has to respect the fact that everyone does not grieve the same way. Sophia and Lenore are not communicating with their brother Joseph, because the care Victor received was not to their liking. The distance and stubbornness maybe their driving factors, and solidifies their excuses in not dealing with their father’s terminal illness and death. Sophia and Lenore express signs of impatience because they avoid their mother while she is grieving and they do not want to constantly hear about their father’s death. I wonder have they ever thought, their mother is trying to process 53 years of marriage to a man that she loves and birthed four children together. They should embrace their mother and with patience allow her to grieve the ways she needs too.

Two Healthy Coping Strategies

Coping with terminal illness and death is difficult, but there are different coping strategies that will help you not forget but to keep going while honoring the person that died. One strategy I am in favor of is grief counseling because expressing how you feel and being able to talk about it helps people accept the death but keep the memories alive. Learning how to cope in grief counseling through physical contact, allowing yourself to cry, meditating, and looking at old pictures or videos helps lessen the pain of suffering for the terminally ill patient and the loved ones that are witnessing this transition to death (Kennedy, 2008). Another healthy coping strategy is accepting the inevitable which is difficult but necessary. Acceptance is also looked at a coping strategy but it is a defensive one (Broderick &Blewitt, 2015). Defended your loved one that passed is normal, and accepting the results of terminal illness and death are a process that takes time to comprehend. I believe people view acceptance as a tool to let go and forget, but it is actually giving yourself permission to accept the inevitable while learning how to keep living. In the process of acceptance we allow our mind and hearts to be at peace while accepting the death (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).

Summary

The agony of spending the majority of your life with someone and before you are ready you watch this person slip away suddenly or gradually. The pain either way is deep rooted and hard to fathom in the midst of a loss. Surrounding each other, accepting the outcome and how you feel, communicate with others that are enduring the same heart, and remember while uplifting and celebrating the life that was lost are intricate parts of the mourning process. We hear all the time from people who are close to the deceased, that they would not want us crying or feeling depressed but to move on and celebrate the life they had. I will admit this is one of the hardest accomplishments to achieve when death hurts so much.

References

Broderick, P. C., & Blewitt, P. (2015). The life span: Human development for helping professionals (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

Kennedy, A. (2008). Working through grief. Retrieved from http://ct.counseling.org/2008/01/working-through-grief/

3. (L. Waf)

Victor and Isabella married 53 years had four children, Paul, Sophia, Lenore, and Joseph. Following years of stable health, Victor became ill with pancreatic cancer. Over the last four months of his life, the treatment left him violently ill, in and out of the hospital. While Isabella and the other children provided some care the bulk of care was provided by Paul as the burden fell on the oldest child. Victor did not have a written living will. However, Isabella informed her children that Victors wishes were to receive unexpected supports be used to keep him alive. Victor eventually fell into a coma, having difficulty breathing; in a turn of events, Joseph prevailed against Isabella allowing a ventilator to be inserted. Victor dies a few days later. This caused strife amongst Joseph and his siblings as they felt it only caused Victor additional suffering. (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).

Factors Influencing Reaction to Death

There may be several factors influencing Isabella’s reaction to Victor’s death and illness. They were married for 53 years, she is now in late adulthood and now left alone. Joseph may feel guilty for going against the wishes of his family; causing the strife. I believe the primary factor affecting the reactions of the siblings is the disagreement of medical care imposed by Joseph. Paul also worries significantly about his mother, and Lenore and Sophia appear to want to not deal with the reality of Victor’s death by avoidance.

Coping Strategies

Because grief is a typical experience following any significant loss which has no cure two healthy coping strategies I would encourage for this family is grief counseling for the entire family and building a secure support network with one another. Expressing to each of them the importance of healthy coping skills to prevent complicated grief, depression, substance abuse, or health problems.

Summary

A loss is an unavoidable part of life, and grief is a natural part of the healing process. Grief it is felt on an emotional and a physical level. Grief is linked with feelings of fury, sorrow, guilt, yearning, and regret among others; it affects everyone in different ways. The mourning process can last month’s maybe even years. While everyone deals with grief differently, it is essential to understand why the person is grieving and vital for the grieving person to know there is no proper or improper way to grieve.  “At some point, we begin to think of time not as limited” time to live” but as “time left to live.” (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015).

Reference

Broderick, P. C., & Blewitt, P. (2015). The life span: Human development for helping professionals (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education

Readings

· Broderick, P. C., & Blewitt, P. (2015). The life span: Human development for helping professionals (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

o Chapter 15, “Gains and Losses in Late Adulthood” (pp. 556-596)

Bielak, A. A. M., Anstey, K. J., Christensen, H., & Windsor, T. D. (2012). Activity engagement is related to level, but not change in cognitive ability across adulthood. Psychology and Aging, 27(1), 219–228.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Bowling, A, (2007). Aspirations for older age in the 21st century: What is successful aging? The International Journal of Aging & Human Development, 64(3), 263–297.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Davis, C. S. (2008). A funeral liturgy: Death rituals as symbolic communication. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 13(5), 406–421.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Hemmingson, M. (2009). Anthropology of the memorial: Observations and reflections on American cultural rituals associated with death. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 10(3), 1–13.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Lowis, M. J., Edwards, A. C., & Burton, M. (2009). Coping with retirement: Wellbeing, health, and religion. Journal of Psychology, 143(4), 427–448.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Ong, A. D., Bergeman, C. S., & Boker, S. M. (2009). Resilience comes of age: Defining features in later adulthood. Journal of Personality, 77(6), 1777–1804.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Schoulte, J. C. (2011). Bereavement among African Americans and Latino/a Americans. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 33(1), 11–20.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Wang, M., Henkens, K., & van Solinge, H. (2011). Retirement adjustment: A review of theoretical and empirical advancements. The American Psychologist, 66(3), 204–213.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Kaplan, D. (2008). End of life care for terminally ill clients. Retrieved from http://ct.counseling.org/2008/06/ct-online-ethics-update-3/

Kennedy, A. (2008). Working through grief. Retrieved from http://ct.counseling.org/2008/01/working-through-grief/

National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine. (2013). End of life issues. Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/endoflifeissues.html

Rudow, H. (2012). The bereaved at greater risk of heart attack after loss. Retrieved from http://ct.counseling.org/2012/01/the-bereaved-at-greater-risk-of-heart-attack-after-loss/

Media

· Laureate Education (Producer). (2013d). Late adulthood [Video file]. Retrieved from CDN Files Database. (COUN 6215/COUN 8215/HUMN 8215)
This week, you will revisit your assigned client family for the final time in this course. Before watching this media, take time to reflect on all that you have learned about this family. Then, examine the new information given on this week’s featured family member, aged 65 or older.
Note: Please click on the following link for the transcript: Transcript (PDF).

· Laureate Education (Producer). (2013j). Perspectives: The golden years [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 3 minutes.
This week’s presenter discusses the physical and cognitive changes experienced by older adults. The presenter offers counseling approaches and considerations for this age range.

Accessible player  –Downloads– Download Video w/CC Download Audio Download Transcript

The following document gives credit for Laureate-produced media in this course: Credits (PDF)