Case Study - Grief

Client:

Emma (42, doctor)

Issue:

Struggling to cope with the death of her mother.

How R&L Helped:

Initially, Emma came to R&L for relationship counselling. However, it became apparent that she could also benefit from grief counselling. To begin with, the R&L counsellor helped Emma to explore and process her grief experience. This included emotions she'd been experiencing, changes to her eating, sleep or social activities, what she was finding helpful, and what she was finding difficult.

A significant part of this support involved normalising Emma's grief experience and providing a space where she could be open about how it was affecting her. Emma was feeling distressed because she felt like her grief was taking too long to “subside,” and she was concerned about “burdening others” by being glum around them. Knowing that her grief process was normal and adjusting her expectations eased some of Emma's distress and concern. 

They also developed a self-care plan together as a means of reducing Emma's distress. This included going for bushwalks, coffee catch-ups with friends, sleep hygiene work and nightly baths. 

After four months of counselling, Emma felt that she was coping a lot better with her grief, and it was agreed that it was time to conclude counselling.