| Summary: | 碩士 === 慈濟大學 === 人類發展學系碩士班 === 104 === Bereavement is an inevitable state of suffering that we experience after the loss of a loved one. This period of grief and mourning has not received adequate attention in current medical care, because it is neither a disease nor a diagnosis. As a result, primary caregivers are often disregarded by practitioners in the health care system, leaving them to cope with the death of a family member on their own. Thus the bereaved face arduous and challenging circumstances of not only having to adjust to their loss, but also dealing with emotional experiences and sentiments that occur in the anguish of bereavement with no one to assuage their agony. They seldom receive understanding from others and are left to suffer the dire consequences of further distress when they are overwhelmed and disabled by their unresolved grief.
Humanistic clinic investigates the lived experience of suffering outside the medical diagnostic system, enabling the practitioner to attain a broader sense of comprehension through the exploration and reflection of these experiences. This study approaches the psychological conditions of those who have lost their spouse from this perspective and incorporates therapeutic horticulture into bereavement counseling. The bereaved interacts with the healing elements of nature through plants, garden landscape, and horticultural activities, which leads them to reflect on their own inner experiences and life issues they encounter while caring for and observing the life cycle of a plant, thus aiding their adjustment after loss.
The participants in this study were primary caregivers who have recently cared for their spouse during the final stages of a terminal illness until their death. A total of eight counseling sessions (one-hour per session, once a week) consisting of therapeutic horticulture activities were conducted for the purpose of facilitating the grieving process. A qualitative interview was done eventually as a review of the whole experience, and the collected data was analyzed using a phenomenological method.
The results of this study indicate that when the bereaved spouse establishes a positive relationship of mutual caring with plants, the length of time spent grieving is curtailed. In addition, due to the many metaphors related to plants within our culture and language, an evocation of these plant metaphors in the bereaved spouse's discourse allows them to make sense of their experiences and gain a new understanding. Plants also empower them to maintain social roles and interpersonal relationships and to secure links with others through social interaction, creating a sense of being cared about.
The counselor gives the bereaved spouse a means of expressing grief and sorrow through language, avoiding stagnant woeful sentiments and providing an opportunity for a transfiguration of former experiences and memories. The counselor not only offers emotional support, but also accompanies them as they perceive the life cycle of the plant. Moreover, with the knowledge and skills of gardening, bereaved spouses can also involve themselves in further therapeutic horticulture as plants continue to
keep them company after counseling sessions have ended.
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