Physician Assisted Suicide Case Study

When it comes to suffering from a suicide loss, it is seen that the age of the griever can very well impact their grief response and the outcome of the loss for them. The ladies in the previous article were fairly young and had a really rough time processing the loss, but in the end they realized that they could put their struggles to good use and help others in the long life they may have ahead of them. With that being said, the question comes to mind as to what the result would be if the candidates were a bit older. In an article by Dane, this issue is confronted in the form of a developmental framework through counseling which, in the words of the author “addresses some of the unique adjustments married, middle aged children within their

The first phase has to do with the adult child identifying and questioning the reason for the suicide. This process takes place during the time that the funeral arrangements are being put together: “ Heightened feelings of guilt, blame and embarrassment, often wondering what other people will say, emerge. Searching for answers "Why did he/she do this to me", or "What did I fail to do, or hear?" is repeated out of despair, to manage feelings of hurt and desertion.” (Dane, 1991). With this phase, the role of the Therapist is to be understanding and to welcome the client to vent and allow them to question the sequence of events. “Listening to patterns of self-blame and guilt should not be dismissed but normalized. An attitude of acceptance and respect can be conveyed by the therapist listening and helping to understand the feelings of blame and shame.”(Dane,

This includes the child being upset with the parent for “leaving them” and the fear of becoming like the parent and taking on the same self-destructive behavior (Dane, 1991). The role of the therapist in this phase is to empower the middle aged child by “[providing] on-going support to enable the middle aged child to face the loss” and to help them “review life with the deceased”(Dane 1991). The third phase of the process includes the middles aged child moving toward the healing process where “ the parental bond is loosened and the pain that accompanies the loss is accepted.” (Dane 1991). For this phase the role of the therapist is to continue to help the client through the process and validate his or her feelings: “At this stage, the therapist continues to facilitate the mourning process and validates painful feelings of sorrow and loss as they emerge.” (Dane 1991). A case study was used to illustrate these phases presented in this article and it one of the main points of conflict was the griever (identified as Mr. K) was having depressed feelings. In the end it was concluded that middle aged children have less psychological issues and can cope better once their fears and issues of loss are addressed and openly discussed (Dane