A parent losing his or her child is one of the most devastating events a person can experience. This Case study involves a married couple named Sally and Mike, who has just lost their six year old son from cancer. Sally and Mike have decided to seek out counseling services because Sally is not functioning well since their loss and feels that her life has lost its meaning. She believes that a child dying before his/her parents is not a normal way of life. Mike is here to support his wife in this time of sorrow, though he seems to be dealing with the loss just fine.
While encouraging Sally and Mike to talk about how each other are feeling, I would utilize the ABC Model of Crisis Intervention. I would …show more content…
para. 2), and possibly the final stage, acceptence, although I feel this may be quite soon as their son only passed a month ago. I would help Mike to express and understand his feeling instead of just repressing them, if that is in fact was he is doing. I would help him to see that though him helping his wife and staying strong may seem like the appropreate course of action, that this is also the time to feel his own emotions and let himself grieve. I would explain that as much as he wants to help his wife, he also needs to help himself, so he can truly help her. I would encourage him to feel his emotions by continuing to offer him a safe place the express himself and his feelings, and providing him with apropriate educational …show more content…
The feelings of lose will never completely go away, so I would help them to find a way to integrate them to find a higher level of functioning. I would help them to see a future that includes the cherished memories of their son, and how by living, they are honoring his live. I would offer them books by parents who have also been in this situation.
After I have a general understanding of the ways in which they both perceive this event, and where they are in their process of grieving, I will be able to help them find new ways in which “to think about, perceive and cognitively process the situation” (Kaplan University, n.d.). I would also suggest that my clients join a support group for grieving parents, as this “is a place of safety where it is all right to say anything” (Kanel, 2014, p. 142). It will also help them feel that they are not alone and that they are allowed to live their lives without their child (Kanel,