Analysis Of Irvin Yalom s The Gift Of Therapy - 980 Words

The readings this week in Irvin Yalom’s â€Å"The Gift of Therapy† were extremely relevant to me for a few reasons. For one, reading about the difficulties of talking about death and dying is such a realistic concern, especially for those of us who are just starting out in the helping process. What was really impactful for me concerning the readings was that this week my boyfriend’s grandmother passed away. I was so taken aback and hardly knew what to say. Naturally, I expressed how I could not imagine what he is going through and such. Nevertheless, I was at a loss of how to show I was there to support him through the loss. I asked those in my cohort who were around me when I found out. From there, we started discussing just how difficult it is to talk about death and successfully communicate to the person/people who have experienced the loss that we want to be there for them. Further, some of us in the cohort discussed how as friends it might be easier to show that we are there for our friends experiencing the loss and what to say. However, as therapists we wonder what you can really say to someone and do for them. Of course we validate their feelings and are present in the moment with them; however, with a friend you can hug them, check in on them and more. With a client, we can only encourage that they reach out to their social support for that type of connection. It all makes sense on paper, but truly, I noticed I tend to freeze when someone tells me of a loss. Immediately