Abstract
Those who lost loved ones to illness other than COVID-19 during the pandemic may have experienced feelings of confusion, isolation, and loneliness. Losing a spouse during the COVID-19 pandemic was a phenomenon. As society feared the coronavirus, some individuals fought deadly cancer diseases. Victims of cancer may not have received the proper and due medical care during the pandemic due to limited hospital beds, priority of care given to COVID-19 patients, or there may have been reduced medical staff. The author shares her personal story about her connection to group of women who met each other after the loss of their husbands to cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic. This chapter reviews the benefits of creating support groups after the COVID-19 pandemic, and counseling implications of how grief support counseling groups are proven to be compassionate, encouraging, resourceful, comforting, and life changing.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Mental Health Clinicians or Professionals: Counselors, therapists, social workers, who provide support, counseling, or therapy to clients, or educators in counselor preparation programs.
Bereavement: The experience that occurs immediately after a loss and the required time to grieve the loss.
Caregiver: Family and/or friends who are responsible for at-home-care, support, and transportation for treatment of a love one.
Counseling Group: A group of individuals who meet regularly while led by a facilitator to resolve personal problems or life transitions.
Grief Support Group: A group of individuals who meet regularly, share a common experience of grief, and offer support to one another.
Terminal Illness: An illness or disease suffered by an individual which will lead to death
COVID-19 Pandemic: A worldwide spread infectious disease that was named in 2019, leading to panic as well as social distancing in some areas. Millions deaths occurred across the world as a result.