Funeral Service Psychology and Counseling 5 Flashcards
A temporary period of heightened psychological accessibility. It is a highly emotional state in which an individual’s feelings of anxiety, grief, and confusion, or pain, impairs his or her ability to act. The person is less defensive than usual, and more open to outside intervention and change.
- It is not the event but the person who perceieves the event. (what may be a crisis for one person may not be one for other)
Crisis
The immediate assessment and short term treatment for individuals experiencing a crisis, with the goal of returning the person to their pre-crisis level of functioning.
Crisis Intervention (Crisis Counseling)
- Short term, usually four to six weeks
- Usually stimulated by an outside precipitator or emotionally hazardous situation. Precipitators are always situational and frequently of an interpersonal nature.
- The more seriously threatening the event, the greater the likelihood that primitive coping behavior will be exhibited.
- Normal reactions such as fear, tension, confusion, or discomfort to an abnormal hazardous event.
- People in crisis tend to pull away from significant others at a tie when positive interpersonal relationships help resolve crises and the lack of them prolonges a crsis.
Characteristics of a Crisis
- Floods
- Hurricanes
- Tsunamis
- Fires
- Earthquakes
Natural Disasters
- Homicides
- Suicides
- Accidents
- Terroist attacks
Man-Made Events
- Sudden heart attack
- Sudden stroke
- SIDS (Sudden infant death syndrome)
Medical Events
- Mortality- potential for unhealthy reponses with more death and destruction
- Time- the greater the duration the greater the stress
- Spatial- the closer the person is the greater the stress
- Reoccurrence- causes intense fears
- Seasonal Influence- holidays can make it more severe
- Racial (ethnic) considerations- different cultures react differently
- Cause of death and/or severity of the loss
Factors to Consider Regarding A Potential Crisis (Roberts)
Statistics
- Recent Research- as new information comes, our responses change.
- Myths vs. Reality- Misinformation has the potential to exacerbate a person’s response to the event making it more difficult to cope.
Factors to Consider Regarding A Potential Crisis (Roberts)
Medical
- Cause of death- more difficult to cope
- Investigation and interrogation- stress and anxiety for survivors
- Severity of the loss- The closer the relationship, the more difficult the loss
- Relational Problems- makes adjustment more difficult becasue there are no more opportunities left to resolve the problem.
Factors to Consider Regarding A Potential Crisis (Roberts)
Grieving Challenges
- Anxiety, fear, panic or anger
- Emotional numbing
- Difficulty sleeping
- Walking throughout the night
- Nightmares or daydreaming
- Exhaustion or mental fatigue
- Change in appetite
- Disbelief or denial of events
- Reliving images of the traumatic evvents
- Dwelling on the event
- Easily angered or upset
- Depression or worsening of depression
- Problems concentrating
- Accident proneness
- Increasing frustration or impatience
- A tendency to isolate or withdraw
- Neglecting responsibilities
- Reluctance to assume responsibilities
- Fear or reluctance to express emotions
- Headaches, stomachaches, indigestion
- Children acting younger or less responsible
- Children returning to bed wetting
Typical Reactions Following Potential Crisis Events
- ABC Intervention Model
- Achieving contact with the individual
- Boiling down the problem to its essentials
- Coping with the problem
- Negative ways of responding to those in a crisis
Crisis Intervention
- Achieve contact wtih the person
- Boil down the problem to its essentials
- Coping mechanisms should be discussed and implemented
ABC Intervention Model (Stone)
The initial contact between the cirsis counselor and the potential client.
- Major task- establish rapport, convey genune respect, trust and acceptance
Achieving Contact with the Individual
- Filtering out irrelevant data
- Identifying the major problems
- Examine the dimensions of the problem including the “last straw” or precipitating event
- Identifty and legitimize the feelings and emotions of the person
- Communicate the problem the client as simply and directly as possible
Boiling Down the Problem to its Essentials
Explore and help the client identify successfully past coping skills.
- May have tried familiar coping skills alread that have not worked well
Coping With the Problem
- Help client develop successful coping mechanisms and goals
- Inventory the client’s personal resources, determine which will be helpful
- Formulate alternatives for strategies that are not successful
- Review and refine the plan as necessary
- Take action
- Follow-up when possible
Plan for Coping- Steps
- Quick advice
- False assurances- insincere
- Bromides
- Asking too many questions or asking closed-ended questions
- Judgemental pronouncements- ignores the person’s real problem
- Debating or arguing- causes distance between the counselor and the client
Negative ways of Responding to Those in a Crisis
Summarizing issues into something too simplistic.
Bromides
- Usually the first professionals who are experiencing a crisis meet, who have some understanding of what grieving individuals are experiencing.
- Provide a calming environment
- Give perposeful activity when they are feeling helpless and out of control
- An opportunity to view the deceased
The Funeral Director’s Role in Crisis Intervention
A means of supplying support to a family after a death has occurred. Usually begins after the funeral has ended and continues for about 12 months. Two basic forms:
- Information oriented services
- Direct care services
33% of funeral homes offer this.
Aftercare
