Bereavement And Pastoral Counseling The Loss Of A Loved...

BEREAVEMENT AND PASTORAL COUNSELING The loss of a loved one through death is one of the most difficult situations that people must cope with. People need the support of others during their time of bereavement. Because of this, pastoral counseling plays a vital role in helping people overcome feelings of grief. It is important for pastoral counselors to be able to provide consolation and hope to those who are undergoing the process of bereavement. Death is a natural part of life because everyone eventually dies. As such, mourning is also a natural part of life. As stated in the Old Testament of the Bible, there is â€Å"a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance† (Ecclesiastes 3:4, NRSV). Even Jesus Christ was known to express grief from time to time. For example, at the tomb of Lazarus (before raising him from death), Jesus is shown weeping alongside the other people gathered there (John 11:35). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said to his followers: â€Å"blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted† (Matthew 5:4). Despite these words of comfort in the Bible, grief is an extremely difficult thing for people to endure. The feelings of loss that come with grief are often compounded by other emotions such as guilt, denial, shock, fear, confusion, helplessness, depression, or anger. Grief is especially traumatic when the mourner had a close relationship with the de ceased. It is also especially difficult to cope with when the deathShow MoreRelated Grief Counseling Essay3179 Words   |  13 PagesGrief counseling is a division of social work that involves the interpersonal aspect of the social worker’s role as expert in coping with death. In this paper I will define grief counseling and some ways to cope with loss. Next I will discuss the history and seven stages of grief. There are two main forms of grievers which are intuitive and instrumental. In addition there are four major types of grief which are acute, anticipatory, sudden and complicated. The helping process is explained as wellRead MoreHealthy Grief Essay2372 Words   |  10 Pagesmay come into people’s lives. Losing loved ones by disease, accident, natural disaster, or experiencing personal trauma is very painful. The emotional, physical, and spiritual reaction in response to these tragedies is known as grief or grieving. Grief is a natural reaction to loss and at ti mes can be a very strong and overwhelming emotion. In this paper the writer will define and describe the model of grieving by the psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. Through the Biblical Story of Job, the writerRead MoreAfrican-American Cultural Beliefs Essay2402 Words   |  10 Pageshow physical distress is viewed. American culture often wants to minimize the distress and discomfort felt as a way of coping. However, some cultures may ignore the natural desire to minimize discomfort (Corr, 2009). The African-American culture is one such culture. African-Americans who are making end of life decisions often consider suffering to be honorable. Depending on their religious beliefs, suffering may be a way of identifying within their faith. To this end it is common for African-AmericansRead MoreHospice Care2199 Words   |  9 Pagesthings that are guaranteed in life are birth and death. It seems that every time I tell my husband that his drinking habits are going to be the death of h im one day. He always responds by saying â€Å"We’ve all got to day someday in one way or another, so why not enjoy life while you have it†. But in some cases the choices that we make will often determine whether we live to see the age of 90 verses just the age of 40 or 50. Nevertheless, whether it is death by a life full of bad choice, by accident, orRead MoreConcept Analysis on Spirituality Essays3140 Words   |  13 Pagesassessment†. Spirituality is an important concept in the health science. Many individuals are dissatisfied with medical treatment. In times of life threatening illness such as AIDS, Cancer, heart conditions individuals may experience frustration, anger and loss of hope. In order to meet the demand of illness many individuals used different coping strategies such as meditation, prayer and other spiritual practices.. Aims or Purposes Spirituality is an abstract concept and has many definitions because ofRead MoreFundamentals of Hrm263904 Words   |  1056 Pagesany means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, website www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley