Those who are unable to properly express their grief due to belittlement, stigma, social indifference, or ignorance experience Disenfranchised Grief. Examples include pet loss grief, loss of a loved one who died under stigmatic circumstances, or those who are not considered close enough to the loss to deserve attention. The belittlement or total disregard of those who grieve for certain reasons is a big problem in society. All loss and grief from that loss should be treated with empathy and love.
Many are not able to openly grieve. Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification
The article, “Disenfranchised Grief: How to Cope & When to Get Help” by Hart Haraguchi takes a closer look at the nature of Disenfranchised Grief. She states,
“Disenfranchised grief, sometimes called hidden grief, occurs when a loss is not publicly acknowledged or validated through traditional norms and rituals. Those experiencing disenfranchised grief feel isolated, stigmatized, and ashamed. While it can feel overwhelming, there are ways to support yourself through your grief including creating a mourning ritual, connecting with others who understand, and talking with a therapist.”
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification as a Grief Counselor.
With grief comes change. Change is one of the elements of grief that makes it so uncomfortable. The change of no longer having a wife or husband, or the change of no longer having your mother or father. It can be also be a change that does not involve death. The change can involve no longer dating someone, or switching jobs. With all change comes adaptation, challenge, emotional re-balancing, and time. Grief is the result of change and attachment to what was changed. Hence, change is a constant.
Ancient philosophers also had a difficult time understanding change. They pondered if everything is in a state of change and flux, is there any permanence in anything. Is someone the same or constantly someone new. Obviously, change does not alter the substance or permanence of an individual. Accidental qualities change within a person or a thing, but the person remains the same person, but it is obvious change alters. It is the person’s ability to cope with change and understand the nature of change in life to better equip a healthy attitude conducive to success in an ever changing reality.
Loss and change are the ingredients of grief itself. How one copes with grief and the change that comes with it is essential and part of life itself. Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Program
One thing that is greatly effected by change is identity. Identity is who a person is and how one perceives oneself. When role is altered due to loss, identity can sometimes become confused and muffled in the chaos. Individuals may start to lose themselves in the chaos of loss if they are not able to better anchor themselves. It is critical during loss and hence change for one to be able to retain identity but this is harder than it may seem and many struggle during loss to retain their sense of self.
Loss of identity can be common for many individuals who define themselves with their vocation, career, or relations with others. Mothers who lose a child, may no longer feel they are a mother. The cruel loss of losing a child can make a woman feel like she is no longer a mother. This strip of identity of motherhood can be a horrifying loss for the person. Many women who lose a child, may make statements such as “I am not longer a mother” or “I used to be a mother, but no longer am”. It is important to help these women understand that their identity as a mother is permanent regardless of loss. They will forever be mothers and nothing can ever alter that. Unfortunately the loss can be so devastating as to attempt to even strip these grieving individuals even of such titles. One can apply this standard of title to anything. It can be applied to a grieving father, brother, uncle, or even a position.
This can also be applied to individuals who lose certain abilities. A runner who loses a leg, or a person who loses his or her sight. Or even the loss of youth as individuals come to grips with a mid life crisis. What one once was or what one could once do, poses serious changes to individuals. Individuals may feel they are no longer who they were and may not recognize themselves. The reality is change occurs within any organism and change, both good and bad will occur. These changes cannot define the individual at the core but they can affect secondary attributes. How one is able to cope with the changes is key to life. Unfortunately sometimes, others face changes that are far more difficult and require far more effort and time.
Identity can also be effected in other ways. Change, whether bad or for the good is always difficult. The change alters one’s perception of oneself and in some cases how others view the grieving. An individual who changes will face a period of adaptation regardless. If one ceases an individual bad habit, then that change will create new struggles as well as new paradigms. Removing oneself from a party scene for example, may pose a challenge in and of itself but also create new difficulties with older friends. Others may no longer wish to associate since the same shared activity is no longer part of one’s life. Hence loss of friends and new challenges of finding new friends can make one question identity.
Please also review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Training Program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals
Ultimately, one can fall into a fear of not knowing thyself. Who am I? Who am I not? Grief and bigger changes can cause an existential crisis in some that requires counseling and help to truly find oneself again. Grief and change are powerful things and can erode one’s very foundation if one does not cope. One can lose a sense of self and become isolated and question one’s own very reality. It is natural to have fears of change, to struggle with these changes, and come out different. However, just because one is different after change, does not mean one is another person. One may have different outlooks and different perspectives, but it does not mean, one’s identity or true self is lost. YOU are still YOU. Just like physically YOU were different when younger, YOU can be different emotionally and mentally due to change of loss. It is important to hold on to the anchor of self despite the storm of change around oneself. Life is about change, but it is about how YOU change with it, not your very identity itself.
In all stories of our life, it is important to not allow the bad chapters in our life to become isolated from the story of YOU. While the story changes, the book title is still YOU. How one incorporates the past chapters with the present in writing the future chapters is key. Change is part of life and without it there is no existence. It is important to be open to change, even difficult change throughout life if one wishes to live. Some change may be very terrible, some minor, and others pleasant, but whatever the change, it will affect oneself. How one connects the changes in life to the overall theme of one’s story is key.
If you would like to learn more about Grief Counseling Training, then please review AIHCP’s Grief Counseling Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Grief Counseling
Resources
“Whats Your Grief” article on “Change, Identity Loss and Grief by Eleanor Haley. Please click here
Nurse Patient Educators are important elements in patient recovery. Nurse Patient Educators not only explain procedures in advance but also cover post operation and release instructions. This helps greatly in reducing re-admission.
If you are a nurse and would like to learn more about becoming a Nurse Patient Educator, then please review AIHCP’s Nurse Patient Educator Certification and see if it matches your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification as a Nurse Patient Educator.
Please also review the below video on AIHCP’s Nurse Patient Education Program
Healthcare professionals and those with interest in the funeral industry can learn about becoming a funeral associate. The program offered by AIHCP, covers the basics of the funeral industry and grief. A funeral associate can work under a licensed funeral director and learn the trade before making the jump into the director position according to state guidelines.
Please review AIHCP’s Funeral Associate Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional standards. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals.
Knowing what God wants you to do in life or even making basic decisions in moral life are important to discipleship. Christians need to hear God and follow His will but it is not always clear. Fortunately, Christians throughout the ages have laid groundwork in defining right and wrong, or proper paths.
Please also review AIHCP’s Christian Counseling Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals.
Please review the video below on Spiritual Discernment
Life can be stressful for women. Learning to manage stress for a more healthy mind body and soul is key for many women. Whether working in a business or keeping the home clean or both, life can be stressful for a woman.
Stress for women is unique in its own way. Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Certification
The article, “4 Stress Management Tips For Women Trying To Balance It All” by Devon Barrow looks at some ways women can better manage stress for a more healthy life. She states,
“As modern women, we pride ourselves on being able to do anything we set our minds to. Maybe that looks like unleashing our entrepreneurial spirit on the world. Or the full-time job of raising a family. Or saying goodbye to familiarity and traveling the world solo. Maybe it even looks like all the above… But the long story short is: As women, we continue to prove that we can balance it all and then some. So the question is not just what can we do but how healthy and happy can we be while we do it?”
Please also review AIHCP’s Stress Management Consulting Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification as a Stress Management Consultant.
For many losing a pet is like losing a child. A pet represents to many the only opportunity to experience a type of parenthood. The pet is their life and for some, their only friend. Hence the loss becomes more stronger for those who are attached to their pet. This is not unhealthy but a bond of love that may be different than human love but still nonetheless is love.
Losing a pet can be traumatic. Please also review AIHCP’s Pet Loss Grief Support Specialist Certification
The article, “How to Grieve the Death of a Pet” from Cleveland Clinic’s HealthEssentials takes a closer look at how to better cope when losing a pet. The article states,
“Given how much comfort pets bring, it’s understandable that losing them can be emotionally devastating. “Our animals become a part of our family,” says Dr. Sullivan. “They provide unconditional love and support, which is something that people don’t get from a lot of different places.”
Pets are family. When individuals lessen the impact of the loss of a pet they show their lack of empathy but also lack of understanding. Some may never experience the love one can have for an animal that is truly sad, but for those who do, we all too well understand the deep pain of losing a pet.
Please also review AIHCP’s Pet Loss Grief Support Specialist Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Pet Loss Grief Support.
Healthcare professionals always deal with the chance of malpractice. Mistakes can occur but they can be limited though with good practices and values. Healthcare professionals can protect themselves by following certain procedures and habits which can make it far less likely to occur.
Healthcare professionals can protect themselves from some instances of malpractice. Please also review AIHCP’s Legal Nurse Consulting Certification
The article, “Avoiding medical malpractice suits” by Keith Reynolds looks closer how healthcare providers can reduce the chance of malpractice. He states,
“To err is human. So the question is not whether a medical malpractice lawsuit will be filed against a physician, but when. As physicians pick their way through this minefield, if they’re not careful, one lawsuit from one patient could define their entire career, and lead to a loss of revenue, increased insurance costs and a massive hit to a physician’s professional reputation. Bob White, chief operating officer of malpractice insurer TDC Group, says that some specialists such as neurosurgeons or obstetricians can spend as much as 25% of their career with an open malpractice suit against them.”
Physicians, nurses or any healthcare provider can provide excellent service and protect themselves. Legal Nurse Consultants also play a key role in analyzing if standards of care were met or not met.
Please also review The American College of Legal Nurse Consulting’s Legal Nurse Consulting Certification. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification as a Legal Nurse. Please review the program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals.
Forensic Nurses play a key role in helping victims and police find justice. Many SANE nurses also become certified Forensic Nurses as well and help supply their expertise in collection of evidence for DNA during sexual assault crimes, as well as providing testimony for cases involving detailed expert advice.
AIHCP offers a four year certification for nurses in Forensic Nursing. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified healthcare professionals seeking a certification as a Forensic Nurse. Please review and see if the program meets your academic and professional goals
Children react to loss differently than adults and even more so within their particular ages of development. It is important for Grief Counselors and other mental health professionals to have a thorough understanding of how children deal and cope with loss.
The American Academy of Grief’s Child and Adolescent Grief Counseling Program reviews the important elements of Child Grief Counseling. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Child Grief Counseling. Please review the program and see if it meets your academic and professional goals
