Essay On A Grief Support Group

I chose the GriefShare support group because as nurses we will need to help our patients and their families with the grief process when a loved one passes away. On March 29, 2014, I met Claudette St. John, the group leader, at 6:45pm at Northwest Christian Church in Acworth, GA. Rick Baldwin also attended the meeting. The group meets from 7-8:30pm. Claudette shared that she has been doing grief support classes for the past 20 years and the past 3 years she has been doing GriefShare at Northwest Christian. She lost her teenage daughter in a car accident 20 years ago. She expressed that there really are not any rules, other than just respecting each individual. She tasks herself with keeping the meetings on track and has a democratic leadership style. GriefShare is a Christian based program consisting of 13 weekly session. Participants do not need to attend all 13 sessions, the sessions can also be done individually. A workbook is given to those that are participating in the program. GriefShare’s goal is to help those experiencing grief, work through the process and recognize the different aspects of grief that they may encounter.

In addition, the therapeutic value of working with grief in diverse groups is of particular interest to me based on the existential challenges in dealing with death, loss of relationships, career, or anyone or anything deemed to be of significance to individuals. Likewise, our society is frankly abysmal in recognizing and supporting those in need of support, therapy and long-term assistance in dealing with grief and loss. Additionally, group work can be a highly effective way to help grieving individuals expand their network of relationships thus helping them move forward in a health way (Corey el al.,

Death is a universally experienced phenomenon. In the United States alone, over 2.6 million people die each year (Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2015). For practitioners, it is of utmost importance to better understand the process of grief to develop better interventions for bereaved individuals.

Life involves many losses. There are small losses: losing a football game, failing a test, or forgetting an assignment. At some point, though, all of us will experience a major loss: the death of a close family member, a major illness, or a divorce in the family. Loss is inevitable for all of us. If you have ever experienced grief and loss, or if you are currently experiencing it, then you might be trying to recover the wrong way. You might believe that you have gotten over it, but it could come back even years later. When it comes to grief and loss, there are a lot of components that people do not understand, but today there are many methods to coop that will lead you down the path of healing.

Grief groups will be led by two facilitators, at least one of which will be a trained therapist. All facilitators will undergo training at the center via a proprietary training program developed by the Executive Director. Facilitators will come from three sources:

The groups I helped co-facilitate focused on death-loss for children and their families. I would help children process their grief through checking-in with their feelings, reading stories, interacting with them in play, and engaging in conversations about these experiences. Many times I was surprised by the levels of understanding and

Black Americans can have different emotions from crying to being silent. People usually gather in large gatherings to pay respect. Black Americans have a belief that death is God’s will and the deceased is in God’s hand and will be reunited

Bowen,D.E, & Strickler,S. L. (2004). A good friend for bad times: helping others through grief. Minneapolis, MN: Augsburg Fortess

In this essay I will outline the main theoretical models relating to loss and grief.

I will be designing a twelve week support group for those who have lost someone to suicide. The purpose of support groups is “to help members cope with stressful life events and revitalize existing coping abilities (Toseland) but the purpose of this specific support group will be to give members involved a sense of normality and a feeling of belonging. Within such a tragedy it isn’t uncommon to let the grief transcend into a depression or isolation, but it’s proven that human relationships (i.e groups) can provide the needed support for individuals to work through their grief and heal. The issue addressed will be moving forward after the loss of a loved one.

The Dual Processing Model (DPM) suggests people experiencing grief works through a cyclical process of restoration and grief (Stroebe & Schut, 2010). It is important that caregivers understand the grieving process to avoid imposing unrealistic expectations on themselves or their offspring in regard to the timeliness of healing. Additionally, leaders will explain the relationship between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Next, they will articulate the ultimate goal of the sessions and homework is to leverage these relationships to create positive family interactions in the group members’ families. Group members will be asked to consider behaviors they would like group members to be considerate of to either promote communication or that could create barriers to sharing.

Grief is the act following the loss of a loved one. While grief and bereavement are normal occurrences, the grief process is a social construct of how someone should behave. The acceptable ways that people grieve change because of this construct. For a time it was not acceptable to grieve; today, however, it is seen as a necessary way to move on from death (Scheid, 2011).The grief process has been described as a multistage event, with each stage lasting for a suggested amount of time to be considered “normal” and reach resolution. The beginning stage of grief is the immediate shock, disbelief, and denial lasting from hours to weeks (Wambach, 1985). The middle stage is the acute mourning phase that can include somatic and emotional turmoil. This stage includes acknowledging the event and processing it on various levels, both mentally and physically. The final stage is a period of

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

This family has suffered a great loss and have all hidden from the reality of grief. The goals established can begin the healing process if they are willing to confront their grief. Healing begins with understanding why they feel the way that they do. Through effective communication clarification of the problem will lead the way to solutions. The plan of action or recovery will conclude with goals documented. The goals will be reevaluated as the healing process advances and the family continues to address their underlying issues.

This paper examines the implications of grief, bereavement and disenfranchised grief. Grief in response to a loss is a unique experience and is expressed distinctively by every individual. It is helpful to have models that outline the stages of grief that need to be experienced in order to achieve acceptance. However, their utility is limited by the reality that grief is immeasurably complex and individualized. Veterans and children are two groups at risk of developing disenfranchised grief. Therefore, it will be important for nurses to be able to identify those suffering with disenfranchised grief or other forms of maladaptive grief so appropriate intervention may be employed.