Grief of an old widow

During the lesson, we spent some time to discuss a case regarding an old widow and her grief. During the discussion, some classmates suggested to find ways to assist the widow to regain interest to her hobbies and look forward to the future that without her husband. I understand their intention is to help the widow to get rid of the grief quickly, but I’m not sure if it’s too pushy. In the point of view of person-centred approach, I think the key is not to guide the widow to the direction we think is good to her, but to understand what she wish to deal with at the moment. I think what I should focus on is to demonstrate unconditional positive regard to her situation and try to understand what she wish to talk about. It’s understandable that she may not wish to talk too much because of the grief, counsellor have to try their best to demonstrate empathy via non-verbal communication as main channel. If she wish to share about her own situation, I will make sure enough time is spent, so that she have a space to talk whatever she wish to talk about, probably her feeling about the lost, what she thought regarding her children or other areas that she wish to share. Besides, the case mentioned Helen have signs of depression. I think it’s needed to consider referral if her situation is beyond the ability of a counsellor.




To conclude, I shared my understanding of the person-centred approach by sharing my comments about a case. I tried to apply the concepts of the approach and talk about what I think is appropriate to do when using the approach to the old widow.