Bereavement Support for Older Adults

Running Head: Bereavement Support for Older Adults Six Session Group: Bereavement Support for Older Adults Bereavement Support for Older Adults Purpose: To create a safe environment for people to express his or her feelings of grief which will hopefully enable them to reconcile his or her loss and begin to reinvest in life by learning through educational support, coping tools in the absence of a loved one Group Goals/Objectives: To foster self-awareness, healing, new friends, sense of community, support of others, education about grief and learning coping skills through psycho-educational approach.

Our goal is to not stop the pain or forget about the loved one but to help members live with the loved memory in a way that doesn’t cause pain. Bereavement Support for Older Adults Outline I. Group Rationale A. Grief is the emotional reaction to a significant loss II. Target Population A. Older Adults a. Bereavement III. Summary A. Mrs. Moore IV. Group Structure & Screening V. Length of Group A. VI. Theories & Techniques A. reminiscence model framework B. Writing/ Journaling C. Art VII. Leadership Style/Skills A. Democratic a. Caring, . Empathetic B. Excellent Communication VIII. Evaluation/Conclusion Bereavement Support for Older Adults Agency: Golden Grief Counseling agency is a bereavement agency that offers services on general grief and loss support group several times throughout the year at various locations in Central Florida. The group typically meets one day a week for about six consecutive weeks. This is a free group, but registration and prescreening evaluation is required to determine the appropriateness of participants to try and obtain group cohesion.

All groups will be based on Homogeneity To be eligible to participate potential members must be at least 69 years of age; 3 or 4 months or more after the loss of a loved one(however, some participants may want to join sooner and Golden Grief Counseling agency will respect a bereaved participant interests in joining the group based on his or her personal grief journey. Golden Grief Counseling agency certainly realizes what works for one person may not be suitable for the next. 1. Group Rationale:

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Grief is the emotional reaction to a significant loss, such as the death of a loved one (bereavement) or no longer being independent with activities of daily living. People may use the words “sorrow” and “heartache” to describe feelings of grief(Bonifas,2010) Whether an individual loses a beloved person, an animal, place or object, or a valued way of life, such as a job, marriage or good health, some level of grief will naturally follow (Bonifas,2010) For this support group, the focus was on bereavement.

Bereavement support groups are increasingly being recognized as an effective way to promote healing through education and support after the loss of a loved one or close friend (Steinberg, 2012). Although support groups Bereavement Support for Older Adults do not fully resolve grief, particularly when they are time limited, but they can promote acceptance that life will be different and that life will be okay and hopeful (Steinberg, 2012) 2. Target Population/Intake:

The target population for this proposal is adults 69 years or older due to the transition of becoming a senior adult, the experience can be a greater struggle simply by a person stage of life (Senior Citizen’s Guide, 2013). 3 Selections of Members All potential participants were prescreened by an approved facilitator as to their appropriateness for the group. It is important for each participant to understand the purpose and goals of the group in order to support a positive group experience for all parties involved. 4. Group Structure:

The group is intended to be primarily psycho-educational and change oriented group. The main activities of the sessions will center on education about the grieving process, information regarding learning coping skills/tools, healing, sense of community, and support of others with an emphasis of self-awareness. The group will be a closed ended group with no new members added once group has started. The size of the group shall be 8- 12 participants within a circle. Duration of the group shall last six weeks. The group will meet weekly with an anticipated length of about 1. to 2 hours. Bereavement Support for Older Adults 5. Theories and Techniques Individuals will learn the process of identifying skills to regulate depression using reminiscence model framework, role-play, contemporary grief work model for a more integrative method, cognitive behavioral model as well as learning how to counter negative thinking and build skills and coping abilities (Greif, Ephross, 2011). The goals and objective of the group will be met by: * Group Processing * Video * Speaker * Reminiscence * Peer Support * Group Work Activities/Games * Fun Homework Assignments . Leadership Skills: The facilitator is a Social Worker with grief group experience in bereavement support groups. The facilitator has the responsibility of facilitating, listening, observing and processing. As a facilitator he or she should walk alongside rather than leading the grieving individual along the unpredictable road toward a new adaptation ( Greif, Ephross, 2011). The Facilitator is to Bereavement Support for Older Adults help the group understand the group purpose, establish the groups structure of when, where, how long group will meet.

The facilitator should be empathetic, warm, compassionate and caring with a nurturing and warm atmosphere. Client Summary Mrs. Moore a 76 year widow was referred by her daughter for a pre-evaluation at the Golden Grief Counseling agency. Her daughter was concerned that her mother, Mrs. Moore was depressed /grieving since the loss of her son and then the loss of her husband two years after. Mrs. Moore’s daughter stated her mother once was active and full of life, but now her mother is not showing up for appointments with doctors, family and friends. Mrs.

Moore was evaluated neurologically and neuropsychologically by a medical doctor and both tests were negative. However, it was reported that she had symptoms of depression which started after the death of her son and husband. Mrs. Moore wondered if her lack of energy was due to a physical ailment or if it was a normal part of grief. Mrs. Moore voluntarily decided to seek a bereavement support group session at the Golden Grief Counseling Agency. Mrs. Moore registered and was pre-screened as a potential client at the Golden Grief Counseling Agency to take part of the free bereavement group session.

Mrs. Moore received a welcome letter and a courtesy call specifying days, times, location and duration of group and what to expect on her first day. It was pre-arranged that Mrs. Moore’s daughter bring her to the first session. Bereavement Support for Older Adults 7. Introduction/Breaking the Ice: The facilitator introduces himself or herself to the group in a warm, compassionate and caring way. The facilitator defines group rules and instructs members in a warm, appropriate way about roles and skills needed for effective group participation and group cohesion.

The facilitator asks every group member to introduce themselves. Objective of Group Development: 1. Reduces the initial anxiety and misconceptions about joining a group 2. Preaffiliation, members may be guarded at first 3. Provides information and instruction about group to facilitate the member’s ability to provide informed consent. 4. Achieve consensus between group leader and group members on the objectives of the group session 8. Pre-group Activities/Intervention: 1.

The preparation session occurs after the group members have had a pre-group written handout that describes what the grief process is and how group works, roles of group leaders and group members, or goals for the group, specific skills to be used in the group, topics and typical activities that the group will be experiencing. 2. The group will view a 5 -10 minute video tape of bereavement groups/educational groups. 3. During the pre-group activities, each group member were asked the question “What they hoped they get from the group. 4. We want all group members to feel comfortable sharing, crying and talking.

During the course of the group, group members have the right to leave if they feel the group is not beneficial and are encouraged to look for another group if they desire. First Week Session included information about bereavement, education about grief and the skills to cope. Next several sessions over the six week session can include * Education about Grief * Handling the Holidays * What to do with loved one’s possessions * Reinvesting in Life * Establishing memorials * Meaningful rituals 9. Evaluation/ Conclusion: Over the course of the group session, Mrs.

Moore and others was able to talk about and tolerate her feelings more openly. She also began to re-engage in social activities after the 6 week group session after using several techniques. Mrs. Moore expressed her grief by writing her deceased husband a letter and reading it out loud at his grave. Each member of the group received a questionnaire evaluation in the mail as well as a courtesy call asking the group member three questions 1. What did they get from the group? 2. What are they doing differently before coming to group? 3. What would they like to group to do differently to help others?

One example of NASW code of ethics would be the importance of human relationship. Reference Greif, G. L & Ephross, P. H (2011) Group Work with Populations at Risk York, NY: Oxford University Press Grief, Loss and Bereavement in Older Adults [Slide set]. 2013 Arizona State University School of Social Work Complied by Bonifas, R. P (2013)Grief Support for Older Adults Senior Citizen’s Guide. Retrieved from http://www. seniorcitizensguide. com/articles/pittsburgh/grief-support-html Steinberg, M. W (2013) Social Worker Help Start Here “Grief and Loss- Your Options: Bereavement Support Groups

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