Essay Sample on Therapists Confront Death, Grief, Emotions

Introduction

Therapeutic counselors face various challenges when tackling death or dying issues. Like any other person, counselors also become emotional and may express different reactions when handling a client. Some counselors may be reminded of their past experiences, which they may be struggling to overcome. They may thus find themselves in a situation where they are forced to confront their past impact experiences. Their feelings might even affect their work effectiveness (Bromberg & Schilder, 1933). Thus, counselors are required to mind about their feelings and reactions to ensure they offer effective care to their clients. Monitoring one's feelings and reactions during counseling therapy are vital since it helps the client recover from their situations. In this study, I will be giving my emotions and attitudes towards death and dying and how to manage a grieving client as a counselor.

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Death or dying

Death or dying situations are the toughest and stressful experiences an individual can get faced with. It is even hurtful when death is of someone too close. Every person reacts and expresses their emotions differently towards these two situations (Mok & Kam-yuet, 2002). Personally, issues of death and dying tend to frighten and stigmatize me. I get shocked by death issues, especially when someone who has died is close to me. It takes me long to accept what has happened. The death and dying issues tend to remind me of the earlier losses and experiences. Crying is always the best medicine for me. I believe that crying helps relieve all the anger and pain caused by the demise. Crying aid in eliminating depression feelings. There was this day that my grandmother, whom I loved and was fond of died. I kept on seeing and hearing her voice now and then. I could not sleep nor eat. I could not stop thinking about her death event. Therefore, these are the things I believe most bereaved people encounter in their grieving process. The feelings may be since a person is yet to acknowledge and accept that they will no longer see their loved ones.

However, as much as how I get affected by the death and dying situations, how I react and tackle the issues presented to me by another person is quite different from my feelings. I do not let the problem take the best part of me. The grieving process can be severe and can result in other things like depression when not handled well (Mok & Kam-yuet, 2002). Grieving is normal, and no one should feel ashamed of it. Despite the situation, I believe that there are always healthy ways of coping with grieve. The significance of the loss, a person's faith, coping style, and personality of the individual determines how they grieve. Having a clear understanding of the grieving process, I would prefer to remain objective while dealing with someone else issue. When a counselor gets emotional, subjective and does not consider that they are only worsening the situation than mending it, the clients tend to get confused about whether to start consoling or stick to their issues (Bromberg & Schilder, 1933). In my perspective, however, it is better to remain objective and avoid being too emotional about any issue. While counseling a grieving client, I would probably try as much as I can to understand what they are going through and their grief source. After having a clear understanding, I will use logic and reasoning to solve their issue. I prefer my method since not every grieve loss is handled the same way. My approach may not work for them; thus, sharing my experience may only worsen the situation.

Conclusion

From the above illustration, it is evident that grieving is one of the most robust experiences that an individual can undergo. Death and dying are topics that no one enjoys listening to due to the fear and stigma they bring. How well a counselor manages their feelings and reactions while dealing with a grieving client determines the client's healing process. A counselor who knows they have negative attitudes and reactions towards death and dying, remaining objective and rational would do much good.

References

Bromberg, W., & Schilder, P. (1933). Death and dying: A comparative study of the attitudes and mental reactions toward death and dying. Psychoanalytic Review, 20(2), 133-185. https://www.pep-web.org/document.php?id=psar.020.0133a

Mok, E., & Kam-yuet, F. (2002). The issue of death and dying: employing problem-based learning in nursing education. Nurse Education Today, 22(4), 319-329. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0260691701907087