Walk Me To The Water Analysis

Introduction:

This journal submission is a reflection on the lectures from June 2nd to June 16th, the videos presented, Brené Brown, Empathy, John Seakwood, Walk me to the Water, and the PBS film Homegoings. This will also touch on the guest lecture from Casey Hay, MD, The talk from a physician’s point of view.

Video Content:

I had not heard of Brené Brown prior to this experience. The content of her short YouTube video was insightful. The characters were able to display the very human feelings of sympathy and empathy. Brown succinctly discusses these two findings, “Empathy fuels connection and Sympathy drives disconnection”. I was the person who would always start the sentence with “at least”, the non-sympathetic response. I will need

This video produced originally in 1981 follows three terminally ill patients during the end of their life, being cared for by family, at home. It is also the intimate portrayal of the family’s response to the fear, anger, and the overwhelming responsibility of caring for a loved one at home. I found this film powerful because I had a similar experience in my own life. My father cared for my mother at home for the last two months of her life. I remember the wide range of emotions in a manner that allowed me to process and understand the complexity of this kind of intimacy during death. Hopefully as I progress in this career journey I will be better able to make that connection with a family in similar circumstances, help those left grieving “make room” and move forward with a sense of meaning and

The purpose of their writing was to relay knowledge regarding, (1) the social worker’s role in addressing intimacy during palliative care and, (2) identifying strategies and interventions useful during these assessments. They provide a useful table on p. 227 that will I use when called on during an assessment for palliative care. It is a very thorough tool with general questions to explore how the illness may be affecting the relationships of the patient and their partner. They also provide in one paragraph what not to do during these discussions including, breaking eye contact, changing the subject, and euphemisms, “clearly communicate a clinician’s discomfort with the subject of sexuality” (p.226). New tools for my future professional