New Article: Therapy, Mental Health, and Death Positivity
Added 2020-09-07 22:30:24 +0000 UTCHello Deathlings!
Louise here – your loyal video producer, Patreon manager, and Order hag.
I'm filling in for Caitlin today because THOSE VIDEOS AREN'T GOING TO SHOOT THEMSELVES.
But honestly this is one of those articles that really resonated with me. I suspect, especially right now, it might resonate with you too.
Telling your friends and family about death positivity is one thing, but sharing this world with our medical providers – especially our therapists, can prove complicated, uncomfortable, and challenging. In "Therapy, Mental Health, and Death Positivity", The Order’s own Caroline Reilly offers some helpful advice from your favorite mortician.
In this piece, Reilly talks with Caitlin, Sarah Chavez, and Megan Devine (basically the death positive all-stars) about approaching therapists to talk about death.
I particularly liked this quote from Caitlin,
...nothing should be off limits in your therapy sessions… There should never be a palpably negative reaction from a therapist to a discussion of death. If there is a negative reaction, it’s 100% not your fault.
And that Megan Devine emphasizes, "curiosity, instead of condemnation".
I don't know about you, but these are things I wish I'd heard when I was a young adult struggling with death fears, but also terrified of what my therapist might say or do.
So for those of you struggling or working through some big death questions, I hope this piece helps you.
We have lots of articles on deck this month that we can't wait to share them with you! And maybe I'll see you again on the ol' Patreon page :)
Be Well Deathlings!
Louise
Comments
Excellent, resource-rich article! I shared it with my family! Thank you so much....
Amy W. Hartsough
2020-09-26 12:57:46 +0000 UTCAs a therapist who is trying to use death-positivity to inform my practice, this article is so timely! Psychological studies show that death anxiety can prevent us from achieving a myriad of goals, as well as that it contributes to depression, anxiety, addiction, and even some psychotic illnesses. I can't wait to bring more strategies for combatting death anxiety into my clinical practice. Caitlin, you and the Order have already helped me so much. I wonder if you all have read any of Irvin Yalom's work? He spends a lot of time discussing death anxiety and its clinical implications. His work is kind of a marriage of the Order and professional Psychology/ Psychiatry; it's basically a death-positive therapist's dream :-)
Kaitlyn Myers
2020-09-09 06:36:34 +0000 UTC
