Case Studies in Loss and Grief from Chronic and Terminal Illness

The course “Loss and Grief from Chronic and Terminal Illness” explores aspects of what preparation mental health helpers need in order to counsel either someone who is chronically ill or dying, or that person's caregiver. Gaining knowledge of the basic concepts about loss and grief in the context of serious illness can be considered the crucial “bones” supporting a skeleton understanding of the topic. It is helpful, however, to also put some “flesh” on the skeleton. This course does that with an in-depth look into several case studies of chronic and/or terminal illness where losses have been incurred and need to be grieved. Over this course you will have the opportunity to look into the lives of Marama, Kathleen, and John, who have had to deal, each in a different way, with the loss and consequent need to grieve that comes from being with chronic and/or terminal illness. Upon successful completion of this course, you will understand more deeply how wide the impact of chronic or terminal illness is on a person's entire life, whether that person is the patient or the caregiver. You will observe, from within real life stories, the many losses that people incur when they are chronically ill, and watch how they go about grieving those losses - or not. You will gain some perspective on the types of counselling and other support that help make life with physical disease more bearable.