Cancer/Life threatening disease
GestaltStudion offers help and support for the whole family when a person is diagnosed with cancer or other life threatening disease. There will inevitably be many thoughts about life and death. You come closer to each other in one way but estrange yourselves in another. You do not speak about what is really troubling you. When someone dies we regret all the things we did not say and all the things we did not do.
Research shows that:
- Cancer diseases damage all families, even those that have been closely connected, stable and happy prior to the diagnose.
- Family members cannot offer support since they are a vulnerable group themselves.
- Family members protect each other from their thoughts and experiences and do not share their thoughts and worries about life and death. The experience of ”not speaking” is itself traumatic.
- Couples are missing help that incorporates the person they are living with.
- Depression, fatigue, pain, stress, worry, treatment and medication affect life, relations and sexuality.
Children and youths have many thoughts when someone in the family is seriously ill. In general, they protect the surrounding adults by not speaking of their feelings and worries. Our personal experience is that working with children, around the disease and fear of death together with their parents is very successful. You can no longer protect the children when the parent is dead. We cooperate with your physician and hospital counsellor.
The counsellor can help you apply for funds towards the family treatment.
» Kristina Elgenstiernas masteruppsats ”Glasväggen”. En studie av gestaltpsykoterapi med par där ene partnern har en livshotande sjukdom.
» Radioklippet ”Samtal med kurator i P1-morgon” med Kristina Elgenstierna angående behandling och rehabilitering vid cancersjudom.
» naracancer.se – en sida för dig som är ung och står nära någon med cancer. Här kan du få mer information, ställa frågor eller prata med andra barn & ungdomar som befinner sig i samma situation.