We are all individuals. These case studies are indicative of the kinds of issues that may arise. In all cases, the response is client tailored.

Profile

This client was ordinarily a calm and competent operator, successful both in their home, personal and work life. However, they had now had news about their health which was going to have a very profound impact on their life. They would need to have serious medical issues and may need to change their life going forward.

They were referred to me by a previous client who felt that I could help them make the transition, not just through the invasive medical procedures, but also during their recovery and then after into their new life.

My response

Clients all have different needs and the process is always tailored. In this case, there was less need to conduct a Stress Test, as the elements of concern were very apparent. Instead we invested our time in exploring the values and beliefs that the client had around her health and the forthcoming process.

Although the client was not religious and did not have any particular spiritual practices, I was able to explain that a pragmatic approach to spirituality, is to focus on making good sense of the life, have a clear purpose and to work in co-operation with those around us.

In that respect, we worked to develop a plan and set of tools that would help them be calm, stay focused and ensure that they took as much command of their situation as they could.

Follow up

What slowly became apparent was that the client had suffered a number of traumatic events in her life (see). As can sometimes happen, these trauma’s became ‘re-lived’ as a result of the new trauma that arose.

We discussed that right approach and agreed that I would refer the client for trauma resolution. In this case the organisation who assessed the client felt co in referring the client back to me for that work. Sometimes there are other referral organisations whom are equally well suited to helping the client.

The process of healing the trauma (relieving it rather than re-living it) included conducting the Emotional Needs Audit (see sidebar). This has become the process by which we can make sure that the client can suitably arrange and plan their future life.

Outcome

The client has comfortably moved through their medical challenge and the initial phase of recovery, and now we are working together to ensure that they adjust to their new life, get her needs met and remain as successful as she was originally.