Assignment:
Take on the role as a counselor who will be working with the family described in the case study below. You are responsible for:
- Seeing the family
- Assessing the issues
- Suggesting an appropriate mode of intervention for the family.
Case Study:
Mother: Your son, age 15, was killed suddenly one evening a year ago. He was a passenger in a car driven by his 16-year-old friend, and the car went out of control. Since that time you have been inconsolable. This boy was your firstborn, talented, and clearly your favorite. You cannot understand why your husband and two other children are not as grief stricken as you are. You have moments of deep rage that are targeted either at your husband, the boy who drove the car, or your younger son, who won't talk about his dead brother.
Father: You lost your 15-year-old boy in a car accident a year ago. For the first couple of months you felt devastated and cried a lot when you were alone. Although you still miss him, you believe that you, your wife, and your two remaining children need to move on with your lives. Your wife cries much of the time, and you feel tension in the family. Because of this, you have contacted a family counselor to straighten all this out.
Brother: You are 13, and your 15-year-old brother died in a car accident a year ago while riding with a friend. You always felt inferior to your brother, and you felt somewhat relieved when he died. Now you feel guilty about these feelings. His memory and presence linger around the house, but when people talk about him, you get up and leave the room. This behavior upsets the rest of the family, but you don't care.
Sister: You are the 9-year-old sister of a boy, age 15, who was killed when the car he was riding in went out of control. You feel sad and miss your brother. Your sadness is even worse because your mother is not as close to you as before, and you feel you have lost her too. You are not sure what to do to get your mother back.
Counselor: You have been contacted by the father of a 15-year-old boy who was killed a year ago in a car accident to do family grief counseling. Your role is to see them, assess the issues, and suggest an appropriate mode of intervention. (This scenario could be played out over several therapy sessions.)