Social work with families : the family experience of bereavement counselling during terminal illness

Abstract

Family bereavement counselling does not only optimise the practical support to the dying person and his/her family but also the bereavement outcome, by encouraging family members to interact as a supportive group. Moreover, family bereavement counselling is founded on the proven relationship between family functioning and the psychosocial well-being of its members. Supporting a grieving family introduces a paradigm shift for those trained in a model of individually focused bereavement care. The research question which instigated this study was "what is the family experience of bereavement counselling during terminal illness?" The purpose of this study is to find out how this type of intervention method helps the families. This study uses a narrative approach with three families who are currently receiving family bereavement counselling. Observations of two therapeutic sessions with each family were used, as was an interview with three practitioners in this field. The findings are presented to the reader according to the themes that were identified from the interviews in the form of a discussion linking my observations of the sessions, the family interviews an the practitioners' interviews. The important points, which were identified quite dominantly in this research study are the effectiveness of the session, the sharing of emotions and how the professional intervenes. All the participants; families have received help from the social work office of Sir Paul Boffa Hospital.