Bereavement: Death and Dying
Question 1
Parental bereavement refers to the suffering encountered by parents following the loss of a child. The loss may occur at any time during the life of the child, and the effects of such loss are different for every parent. Parental bereavement following miscarriage occurs soon after a parent realizes that their child died before reaching full term during pregnancy. Sometimes parents may feel responsible for the child’s death and blame themselves as they grieve.
Abortions involve the interruption of pregnancy and subsequent death of the child. In induced abortions, parents may experience feelings of guilt, which makes grieving more difficult. Neonatal death occurs soon after the child is born and may occur as a result of diverse causes, including congenital anomalies and neonatal diseases. Depending on the nature of death, a parent may feel guilty or may feel a lack of control (Barrera et al., 2007). Sudden infant death usually occurs unexpectedly in children who appear healthy. The shock that parents experience can be disabling, and parents may experience a sense of loss of purpose, loss of control over their own lives, and loss of meaning to life. By the time a child is older or an adult, a parent usually has a vision of the child’s future (Barrera, 2007). Their lives usually are defined by their children, whom they depend on for meaning and purpose. Such a loss can be devastating and may elicit feelings of anger, depression, and hopelessness.
All parents react differently to the loss of a child, although there are common characteristics. An important tool for grieving parents is support from within their social circle or from other people experiencing a similar loss. In the case of couples, peer support can be derived from a partner as the father and mother support each other. Friends and families can provide support during such trying times and should be accommodative of parents suffering from such losses. Grieving parents can be advised to attend support groups to share their experiences with others.
Question 2
Parental bereavement is a devastating occurrence that may have lasting effects on the mental, physical, and financial health of a victim. Humprey (2009) explains how a social worker can intervene to help a client deal with grief by employing various adjunctive strategies.
One of the adjunctive strategies that can be employed is mindfulness meditation. This requires the client to start by identifying the emotions that they are currently experiencing. When grieving, a person may have a hard time making sense of the events that occurred and may try to avoid those emotions that they deem negative (Humphrey, 2009). Identifying these emotions instead of ignoring them can enable a victim to move on from these emotions and deny them the power that they have over their lives. Breathing should be controlled to help the patient remain calm and focused. I chose this strategy because of the ease of using it. It requires about 15 minutes for each session and can be done at the client’s convenience at no monetary cost.
Another strategy for dealing with grief and loss is joining grief support groups. Support groups enable people to connect with others undergoing the same situation (Humphrey, 2009). Sharing these emotions can allow a person to realize that they are not alone. Hearing how other people have dealt with grief may provide ideas on how to deal with similar circumstances. This strategy is preferable because of its proven efficiency and the social connections that a person is able to create, enabling them to escape social isolation that is so common for bereaved people.
References
Barrera, M., D’Agostino, N. M., Schneiderman, G., Tallett, S., Spencer, L., & Jovcevska, V. (2007). Patterns of parental bereavement following the loss of a child and related factors. Omega-Journal of Death and Dying, 55(2), 145-167.
Humphrey, K. M. (2009). Counseling strategies for loss and grief. Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association.