SWK354 Case Study on Grief Worden’s Tasks & Family Interventions

Read the case study and answer all the questions.

Penny (39 years old) had lost her husband, George (40 years old), a year earlier. George had collapsed from a cardiac arrest one night and did not survive the journey to the hospital. He left behind Penny and their 8-year-old son, Jacob, who both live with Mdm Tan (George’s mother) and Ben (George’s younger brother) in a 5-room Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat.

Mdm Tan, now 70 years old, had always been a loving mother and doting grandmother. She raised her two sons on her own after her husband died of heart failure two decades ago. Those were difficult times for the family, but it led to a very close bond between Mdm Tan, George, and Ben as they overcame challenges together. George’s sudden passing came as a shock to Mdm Tan. She was not home that night when George collapsed, as she was at her friend’s place playing her weekly mahjong. She was the last person to learn about George’s passing when she returned home that night, as the family felt she would not be able to take the news. Mdm Tan’s elder brother, Peter, did not allow her to be involved in George’s memorial wake and funeral service. Peter felt that it was inauspicious and inappropriate for an elder to pay respects to a younger person. Mdm Tan was heartbroken that she could not see George one last time, but she deferred to Peter out of respect.

Since his passing, Mdm Tan had become withdrawn, low-spirited, and easily frustrated. She no longer met her friends for mahjong and hardly stepped out of the house. She devoted her time meticulously organising George’s belongings in the house and refused to let others touch them. She would remove his clothes from the closet to wash and iron periodically. She also continued to cook an extra portion of food at every dinner without fail. There was tension between her and Ben, especially when he recently proposed selling George’s car to reduce expenses. Ben thought there was no reason to keep the car, as it was expensive to do so, and no one in the family could drive. Mdm Tan was very upset, insisted that the car should remain with the family, and even offered to pay for its maintenance using her limited savings. Due to the tension it created, Ben left the matter as it was and avoided any further discussion.

Penny had taken unpaid leave since George’s passing. She was unable to focus at work and had been experiencing unexpected waves of sadness and grief whenever something reminded her of George. She sometimes found herself angry and frustrated, both at George for leaving them, and at herself for feeling helpless. There were times she wished to join George in his death, but she held on for Jacob’s sake. She did not want to show her emotional struggles to her family, especially Jacob. Hence, she isolated herself from the family and became very disengaged at home. Instead, she found respite in her friends and was often out meeting them. When she was home, she would often invite her friends over to her room, where they sat with her, talking into the night. Despite her friends’ encouragement to seek professional support, Penny was not open to the idea. She lacked the courage to deal with her emotions. Recently, however, her friends shared their concerns with Ben, mentioning that they, too, felt overwhelmed and were unable to dedicate as much time to her going forward. They felt helpless, as they did not know what else to do to help her.

Meanwhile, Ben had been very busy since his brother’s passing. With Penny on leave, he had shouldered the additional financial responsibilities, stretching his savings to cover family expenses. Although it was tough, Ben’s income and savings were still able to support the SINGAPORE UNIVERSITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES (SUSS) TMA – Page 4 of 5 family ‘s expenses for another year. He hoped that Penny would recover from her grief by then and return to work to support the family before his savings ran out.

Ben had also assumed a fatherly role to Jacob, believing this was what George would have wanted. In George’s absence, Ben made adjustments to his job to be available for Jacob, working from home twice a week and spending evenings helping Jacob with homework, reading bedtime stories, and ensuring he felt supported. At times, Ben found himself reflecting on George’s role as a father and wondering if he was making the right choices for Jacob. This new role brought a sense of duty, but it also weighed heavily on him, especially as the family’s finances tightened.

During George’s death anniversary, Peter visited the family to assist with the traditional prayers, bringing along incense and offerings. Penny remained disengaged and stayed in her room. Mdm Tan’s anxiety seemed to escalate throughout the preparations—she grew increasingly critical of the setup and reacted irritably when anyone tried to move George’s belongings. Frustrated, Peter confronted Mdm Tan and Penny, accusing them of being disrespectful to George’s memory and urging them to “move on.” In a heated moment, he began packing up some of George’s things to “make a fresh start.” Mdm Tan burst into tears, pleading for Peter to stop. At that moment, Penny came out of her room, sobbing and visibly shaken, saying it was too painful for her to live in this home and that she wanted to move out.

Feeling overwhelmed by the family’s ongoing distress, Ben decided it was time to seek professional help. He contacted the Family Service Centre (FSC) for support in helping his family come to terms with George’s passing. You are the FSC social worker assigned to assist the family.

Question 1

Discuss and explain the four (4) tasks that the family needs to accomplish using Worden’s Tasks of Mourning. For each task of mourning, identify and analyse the specific needs relevant to any of the family members (i.e. Mdm Tan, Penny, Ben, Peter and/or Jacob) might have to address and the strengths that the family can tap on. Support your points with examples from the case study.

(32 marks)

Question 2

Discuss how you would formulate your intervention approach for each of the following key strategies of working with families proposed by Collins et. al (2024) when working with this family. Support your points with examples from the case study.

• Adhere to culturally sensitive practices
• Focus on the family’s needs
• Reassess clients’ resistance
• Maintain a dual micro-and-macro focus – Ecological Intervention

(28 marks)

Question 3

Apply any FIVE (5) principles of Saleebey’s (2013) Strengths Perspective that might be useful in addressing the concerns/issues in the family. Support your points with examples from the case study.

(30 marks)

Structure, organization, language, references and correct use of APA style.

(10 marks)

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