Designing and marketing bereavement counseling support groups

Bereavement-Counseling Group

Bereavement group

The bereavement groups are social gatherings that most people need and belong to since there is no way to tell when bereavement may come by. However, these groups come in handy when such unforeseen sad situations come by and the affected individuals need support emotionally to go through the sad times. In as much as it is a voluntary group, in most parts people find that it is of great help to be engaged in one of these groups always.

While designing a bereavement-counselling group, there are several ways that can be used to market or publicize it. The first would be to have a brochure that the potential members are served with within the community that will be targeted. This brochure is a sure way of having the individuals who received it have a point of reference as frequently as possible incase they need details about the bereavement support group. The other advantage of the use of brochures for this activity is that it can be passed on from one person to another who may want to know about the group. There will also be the use of social media that has of late been a driving force to connecting people with ease. Indeed the real essence of the bereavement group is to help people with similar challenges to come together and help each other as well as know how they can help those who are not within the group. The use of twitter and facebook will help members to know the proceedings of the group and also share experiences, give advice and give directions for the betterment of the group. The two mediums above are the best since they involve writing and whatever the person reads sticks more than whatever they hear and from the written medium they can contemplate on more.

In the formation of this bereavement group, the people who will be included do not have to be of high qualifications or undergo a complex procedure in order to be a member. There are basic requirements like should be a licensed counsellor or willing to undergo the training to be one. Must have undergone education on grief process or willing to undergo the same to be able to understand the grief process and help others to overcome the grief that they ay find themselves in. It will also need someone who has passion for helping people who are bereaved as a calling and someone who can sacrifice their time to attend to the needs of others and also to be available for the seminars and trainings as will be organized within the group. Passion for the activities that revolve around counselling and showing of empathy with the bereaved will also be a requirement in this recruitment.

Outcomes for sessions

a. Investigating reactions of the loved ones

There are three basic reactions that can be seen to be in the minds of the loved one or the bereaved.

Making sense of the event (resilience)-this involves a denial phase that it should not have happened to them and still trying to see why and how it came to happen to the.

Finding value or benefit in the experience - this is an outcome that that a counselor can find among the bereaved who have decided to come to terms with the condition that has befallen them and have made a positive move of turning the misfortune into a beneficial move say of uniting more than ever as a family, starting a foundation that would help stop same deaths from the one that might have killed the beloved one who passed on.

Failure to recover from the loss (vulnarability) - this is common among those who have allowed the bereavement to totally change their lives and live a life full of regrets related to the loss. Such people choose to project their energy to negative places such as drinking, crime and drug abuse among others in a bid to either have sense of revenge or have a sense of escape from the bereavement that befell them (Carnelley B.K., et.al., 2006:Pp477).

Learning about grief feelings and their affect on self

Once the individual learns of the loss that has befallen them, there are three effects that will possibly be experienced in most people as follows;

Shock, yearning and protest- at this stage, the individual will not accept that the loved one is gone upon learning that they have actually passed on. They will protest against any proof that the individual has actually passed on.

Despair -- this normally comes after the first stage and the person feels lonely once he realizes that it is real that the person is no longer with them. Here, some will be seem to apportion blame on other and even God for the death of the individual.

Recovery -- this is normally the desired final stage of an individual who has learned of the grief that they face. It is a stage where the individual accepts the loss and puts on the positive energy to try and make his life regain the ground as it was there before (Stroebe M., at.al., 2007:Pp 1964).

Learning how to say goodbye

In a session teaching individuals how to say goodbye to their soon dying or the dead, there are several reactions that one is likely to find with their clients. The counselor is likely to meet the following three situations;

Fear of not knowing what to say- there are several people who may not know which exact words he should use in order to convey the message as is require by the spectator audience.

Fear of saying it the wrong way -- some people may have what to say in a goodbye session but they still fear that they may say it the wrong way hence negate the positive intended message.

Fear of what the patient may say-this is mainly in situations of terminally ill patients who are on their death bed and the loved ones come to see him for the last time. Counsellors often know how to guide people in saying these goodbyes since the patient may be offended at some content (Peck and Stephanics, 1987).

Coping with the loss of the loved ones

There are several outcomes in this session as follows;

Shock, numbness and disbelief- this often comes first when the individual learns of the death of the loved one.

Accepting the loss- this comes in after contemplation for sometime hence accepts that the departure of the beloved one.

Prolonged grieving -- there are those who can go on mourning and grieving over a long period and this is expected ion the sessions (American Cancer Society, 2014).

Part 2

During the counseling of a trauma victim, here are several questions and expressions that could be used.

1. The traumatic event is persistently re-experienced.

2. Avoidance of any stimuli associated with the traumatic experience.

3. Display of dissociative tendencies.

4. Display of increased arousal.

5. Challenge in controlling the effective arousal

6. Somatization

7. Chronic changes in the character displayed.

8. Change in the sense of meaning of the individual

9. Display of psychological abnormalities.

10. Heightened vulnerabilities to physical illness as well as the mental disorders.

11. Availability of the medical as well as psychiatric care givers in the process.

12. Victims require absolute attention from the counsellor.

13. Recounting of History by the patients.

14. Patient's safety

15. Effective treatment of trauma.