Mental Health Support

You have done the difficult part. Communicating bad news to the patient’s family. Once again you wonder, “How did I not know I would be dealing with families? Human families? Their feelings and behaviors.”  You were not prepared for people crying, telling their family history, being angry, lashing out.  

In the moment, you do have to prepare yourself for all the different emotions and behaviors. You must choose the right environment (private space, no interruptions), non-verbal language (eye contact, sitting close), and in the most empathic way you can, muster up the courage to tell them the bad news. You have learned to do it. It’s not your most favorite part of the job, but you do it.

Now what? For best practice, following up with the families, “checking-in,” especially for those families where one may be noticeably struggling more than what you have come to know as normal. It sounds exhausting. Maybe you put it off because it is more of the same interaction with humans that you did not understand to be part of the job when you started out in this field. You just wanted to help animals. Sitting with a human in grief. Talking with someone about their grief. That was not what you trained for, and yet, you know that it’s the right thing to do. It’s good for the patient’s family. It’s good for you, emotionally and professionally. 

Here’s where I come in. I am trained to sit with people through their grief and loss. I am passionate about speaking openly about grief and loss. Anticipatory, chronic, complicated. All types of grief. So, if you are concerned about your patient’s family member and want to know they are coping, contact me. I will be more than happy to “check-in” with your patient families. 

This is not therapy. It is a 15-20 minute “check-in”.  I normalize their grief. I validate their feelings. I ask about their current grief experience and any past experiences with grief and loss. I offer resources. If the family member does not wish to speak with me, I email a resource list. In some cases, I may suggest they seek therapy. I do the work you least like and the work I most love.