Tara, a Sandhurst-based medical clinic specialising in mental health, hosted an open day for the public, media and medical students.
Keynote speaker, social worker Dr Nelia Drenth, gave a presentation to attendees on grief and loss – for example when a family member has passed away. She delved into the psychological complications that often followed such a tragic event. Many of the attendees are studying towards a degree in social work and her presentation was aimed at informing and inspiring them.
She said, “My best lecturers were my patients… It is important to assess losses [deaths] in a person’s life.” She elaborated on this particular point by using an example of marriage counselling sessions with a couple and she was trying to establish what the issues in this particular relationship were. It was only after addressing the death of the husband’s mother that she realised what was causing the couple’s marital turmoil. After addressing this loss, and counselling him accordingly, the couple’s marital problems fell away.
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At the forefront of her discussion was the dignity of each individual patient and the ethics that should be applied by each medical practitioner. ”We all want to be worthy and dignified… let us bring in the dignity of the client [during treatment].
“The first ethic involves the client [who] is the one [we focus on]. Secondly, we need to ask ourselves, is this to the benefit of the patient? Thirdly, [medical practitioners] should not do harm and lastly, we ask: Am I being just towards this patient?”
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Drenth quoted a well-known social worker, Dr Harvey Chochinov who said, ”What do I need to know about you as a person to give you the best care possible?”
Regarding this point, she relayed her experience with South Africans of varying cultures and backgrounds and stressed that social workers ought to be acutely aware of the cultural beliefs of their patients as these beliefs shape the way that people deal with grief and loss.
In terms of the loss of a loved one, she stressed that contrary to what many may believe, old people are not geared towards loss. ”Often old people lose someone who they have been married to for years and years and this is very difficult.”
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