Mark* and Diane*, a husband and wife, sought counselling from the Family Counselling Centre of Brant. The couple had recently experienced the death of their young child. It was clear to the couple that they were dealing with their grief in very different ways. While Mark only cried at the funeral, Diane cried daily. Diane felt as if Mark had already moved on with his life while she was still obviously grieving every day. Things reached the point where Diane suspected that her husband did not love nor miss their deceased child. Consequently, Mark could not cope with Diane’s constant high levels of expressed emotion and spent more and more time away from home.

Diane stated that she felt abandoned and the rift between them grew. They were both angry, in pain, and experiencing the loss of each other and their child. More recently they had begun quarrelling in the presence of their surviving three young children. Diane began threatening to leave her husband and was accusing him of having an affair.

The Family Counselling Center, a Brant United Way Member Agency, stepped in and intervened.

During their therapy sessions, Mark and Diane’s goals were to enhance each other’s understanding of their grieving process, reduce the levels of expressed emotion and to explore ways that they can begin moving towards one another again.

At the end of their therapy sessions, Mark and Diane worked together and made changes in how they were treating each other. They strengthened their ability to empathize with one another and communicate more effectively. The couple began making more time for one another and most importantly they were able to be there for their children.

Brant United Way exists in our community so that all of our community members have supports and services that can help them get through challenges that they may face. Together, we can make a difference in our community and create a real, lasting change. Mark and Diane experienced one of their worst fears but were able to work through it together with the help of the programs offered by the Family Counselling Center of Brant.

*Names have been changed for confidentiality