The grieving process Case Study

James is left alone and has to undergo the grieving of his loss. The write up will review the grieving process and explore therapeutic interventions for James following his wife’s loss. The reason for choosing the case study was that the case presented a practical real clinical reality that occurs often in practice and hence offers me the opportunity to transit theory to practice. Human emotions are interlinked with their physical and physiological well-being as well as functioning. Grieving is a process that may incorporate both the physical, emotional and psychological aspect of an individual and refers to the sadness that follows the loss of a significant possession either an individual or valued possession (Delalibera, Presa, Coelho, Barbosa & Franco, 2015). As the denial period wears off, one starts to accept the occurrence of the loss and starts to make sense of the loss.

As one makes sense of the loss suffered, the second phase of grieving anger kicks in. The truth that one denied in the initial stage becomes more apparent. The feelings elicit anger which can be meted towards different people such as doctors, friends, family members, self or even the deceased (Pastan, 2017). One questions decisions and their spirituality such as questioning God for the occurrence. This leads to the final grieving stage of acceptance (Pastan, 2017). Acceptance marks the ending of the depressive stage and an individual starts to accept that the loss has occurred, and that life must continue. The affected strategizes on how to live with the loss of the individual and starts to reassign roles, taking up responsibilities and planning their life for life after the loss.

At the acceptance phase, the individual resumes their usual life and may invest in new friendships and relationships. The grieving process can take a short time to cycle from one stage to another or take longer time for different individuals. Medical intervention is critical in cases when the grieving process leads to the development of suicidal ideations. The feelings of loss and emptiness may cause a loss of interest in life. Inability to cope or the lack of social support by family and friends leads to the development of suicidal ideations (Pitman, Osborn, Rantell & King, 2016). Having lived together into their old age, James’s attachment to Mary may make it difficult to accept the passing on hence leading to the development of suicidal ideations.

Intervention is critical at this stage to prevent suicide or self-harm by James. One of the most important support for James is to plan with the significant others to ensure that he James is socially incorporated within the surviving family members. The incorporation might require his moving in with a caregiver or a new family. Social support in the grieving period provides an individual a sense of belonging, strength, and comfort (Nyatanga, 2018). The social belonging will be imperative for James as it will enable him to participate socially reducing his risks for depression. Conclusion Palliative care for a grieving family member is a critical aspect of care provided by the palliative nurse. http://dx. doi. org/10. 1371/journal. pone. , & Franco, M. Family dynamics during the grieving process: a systematic literature review.