Alzeimers and grief

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ron Thompson on October 22, 2009 at 7:51am

Hi Linda
The two are very different to deal with . Grief is an emotion so try to work with the emotion of the lss. Perhaps taking them on a journey to visit the spirit of the loved one . Let their subconscious mind create the visit, such as "someone is waiting to talk with you on the other side of the bridge in the beautiful garden. "
Sometimes the client just needs to know they are ok. and can come back at anytime they need to to talk with them .
Take lots of time to create the visit and be sure they are deep into the hypnosis session.
After this try to release the grief and re post positive memories and a positive feeling of I can now go on.
I will post something on alzimers in a bit as I have a client coming in right now. RT

Permalink Reply by Linda Roan on October 23, 2009 at 6:12am

Hi Ron:

Thank you There were some great tips in your reply re: loss. Regarding the Alzheimers: the client is grieving over the loss of lifestyle (licence taken away) and the carer is grieving over the loss of their role as an intellectual equal.

And I have clients who are grieving over loss of a loved one but dont think that the grief is affecting their lives.

I have been privileged to take clients to meet their loved ones but your words inspired me to think of other ways of doing it.

Cant wait to hear what you say about Altzeimers as I think that is an interesting field which has not been explored enough in the world of hypnosis as far as I can research.

Kind regards,
Linda

Permalink Reply by Kelley Woods on October 28, 2009 at 8:13am

Hi Linda,

Someone here on HypnoThoughts shared this link http://www.buildfreedom.com/content/books/survive/ and I found the information regarding loss invaluable. It's free, too!

Best wishes,

Kelley

Permalink Reply by Linda Roan on October 29, 2009 at 4:21am

Hi Kelley:

Thanks for the website. Lots of good stuff to inspire loss scripts and what a big subject!!!!!!!!!!!

Best wishes,
Linda

Permalink Reply by angela partoon on December 15, 2009 at 1:29pm

Hi Linda, i don't think any cognitve loss can be seperated from grief. For the affected person, where they experience episodes of lucidity there is grief for the loss of memory, and grief for the loss of the future they expected to have. They also grieve for the loss their illness causes those those that know them, of the lost opportunities to share the memories and again the loss of the expected future.
For carers, family, friends this same process occurs, grief at the erosion of and loss of shared history, reduced oportunites to share, and the loss of the expected future.
With clients affected by cognitive loss, it is important for them and everyone involved that an accurate assessement of the cause is medically identified and treatment provided as soon as possible. Making things brighter,more colourful and more interesting helps clients retain the experiences and learning to understand how little we recall of our everyday lives. Research into Alziemers has shown that better lighting, in the home, also helps. The Alziemer society has some good information on it.
In terms of therapy I work with the client with family, friends and carers to learn to accept, understand and take pleasure in the time they spend together and accept any limitations the illness places on them. Individually I work with them on grief.
I dont know if this is helpful. Loss of cognitive ability has many causes and the behaviour of those affected can be similar across a number of them.
angela