Helping Seniors Cope With The Loss Of A Spouse

Submit a full draft of your Grief Intervention Proposal to the discussion board

Title: Helping Seniors Cope With The Loss Of A Spouse

Outline

Counseling
Problem to be addressed and prevalence
    The problem is helping the seniors cope with the loss of a spouse, as this is a highly prevalent problem in the US. 
Target population
    The target population in the project is seniors. Although people handle grief differently, the seniors specifically are mostly affected because they have been married for many years, and they may feel like grief may never come to an end. 
Three SMART goals your proposed interventions
    Helping them understand that grieving is a process and it takes time
    Finding them a support system, i.e., grief support groups
    Educating them on the importance of avoiding to be isolated as it leads to loneliness and other depressive symptoms
Annotations
    Jacobson, N. C., Lord, K. A., & Newman, M. G. (2017). Perceived emotional, social support in bereaved spouses mediates the relationship between anxiety and depression. Journal of affective disorders, 211, 83-91.
The article stipulates that following bereavement, people tend to develop anxiety symptoms, which leads to depression. The study uses the Bayesian structural equation models and reveals that offering emotional and social support dramatically helps in reducing anxiety and depressive symptom for the bereaved people.
    Jeffreys, J. S. (2014). A family-centered approach to helping older grieving people. Bereavement Care for Families, New York, Routledge, 232-246.
The source stipulates that adopting a family-centered approach is imperative in assisting senior citizens when grieving. With the help of a therapist, the family can go through the grieving process together.
    Meichsner, F., O’Connor, M., Skritskaya, N., & Shear, M. K. (2020). Grief before and after the bereavement in the elderly: An approach to care. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.
            The authors denote that seniors encounter four forms of grief, which are pre-death, acute, and integrated grief disorder. They suggest several instruments that geriatric psychiatrists can use in identifying patients who need support and best practices to take care of grieving patients. The support should focus on helping them understand their grief, manage pain, think about their future as well as connect with memories.
    Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Larson, J., & Larson, J. M. (2013). Coping with loss. Routledge.
            The source states that seniors coping with loss tend to isolate themselves often and thus become lonely. Losing their partner in life and their unwillingness to see friends or talk about the loss leaves them in so much pain. It is, therefore, essential for them to find a support system to help them go through the grief process.
    Sullivan, C., & Infurna, F. J. (2019). The multidimensional nature of social support and engagement in contributing to adjustment following spousal loss. Aging & mental health, 1-13.
According to the article, the loss of a spouse has a negative effect on both the mental and health of an individual. Social support and engagement are found in the research to have significantly improved the adjustment of individuals after a spousal loss. 
Structure of proposed intervention (duration, services, and format)
    The bereavement intervention program will take 12 months.
    It will offer several services, including grief counseling and grief therapy.
      The intervention program will use different formats because people grief in different ways, and it’s important to avoid imposing on them a particular type of grieving. There will thus be options for group support and one-on-one support.

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