Running head: LOSING A PARNTER AND applicable TREATMENTS
Abstract
The article looks at to two circumstances of loss: losing a partner from a prolonged illness or the sudden and unforeseen loss resulting from an accident or similar situation. Several relevant principles taken from the Family Systems Theory are the sources of treatment recommended by the author for these types of grief cases. She uses two specific examples of each to demonstrate this to the reader. The author also discusses the similarities and differences in each case type and how they influence diagnosis and treatment possibilities for a particular patient. My own experience of losing a spouse influenced the decision to the topic of loss and specifically to this article.
Loss of a Partner and Relevant Treatments
“Death of One’s Partner: The Anticipation and the Reality,” written by Florence Kaslow, presents a study of the uncertainties and consequences typically associated with the death of a partner (2004). The author’s 35 years of experience (p. 227) gives her a remarkable basis of knowledge and understanding of the subject. I chose the topic of losing a partner because I have experienced losing a spouse, but it was the author’s consideration and the article’s insightfulness and its relevance to me that led to the decision to review it. The article looks at to two circumstances of loss. First, losing a partner to a prolonged illness and second, the sudden loss resulting from an accident or similar situation. Kaslow explains the similarities and differences of diagnosis and treatment with these two types of loss (p. 231).
The article refers to the Family Systems Theory and several of its key principles as a framework for treatment. Kaslow’s method is to identify and use only the principles that are pertinent for someone who has lost or is in the process of losing a partner. She gives brief and insightful explanations of each principle, but more time should have been spent...