Case example

The client, “Ann,” was a 52-year-old woman mourning the loss of her husband 4 years previously from a sudden cardiac arrest. She had been abused in childhood, and the only truly satisfying relationship of her life had been with her husband, whom she met in her late 30s. She described him as a soul mate and best friend. They had chosen not to have children and in her Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical words, “were everything to each other.” In addition to her emotional loss, her financial status deteriorated dramatically after his death, resulting in major life changes and a drop in her standard of living. She indicated that her husband had left their financial affairs in disarray, with records stored in boxes in the closet, but she did not feel capable

of sorting through the boxes and dealing with the estate or taxes. At the outset Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical of therapy, Ann met criteria for major depression and PTSD as well as CG. She described crying every night, with great difficulty sleeping. She felt isolated from other people and did not socialize with former friends or colleagues at work. She stated that spending time with people she used to spend time with as part of a couple was too painful, and that although she knew it was irrational, she found herself feeling envious and resentful of other people’s relationships. She reported that she spent hours every day engaged in reveries Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical about her life with her husband; Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical her inattentiveness had drawn reprimands from her supervisor and she was now worried about losing her job, which she detested but needed for financial reasons. She had nightmares and flashbacks about waking to discover her selleck chemical husband’s body in their bed. She also reported episodes of rage, usually triggered by hearing about what she perceived as medical malpractice or instances of poor medical care. She held her husband’s physicians responsible for his death because they never diagnosed his heart problem. Although she had formerly been a talented amateur musician, playing guitar in a local band, Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical she had not played since her husband’s

death. She told the therapist that although she would never consider suicide, she could Megestrol Acetate not imagine a future for herself without her husband. Ann was able to complete the grief monitoring diary and rapidly recognized a pattern: although she disliked her job, work was a useful distraction from the pain she experienced as unrelenting in the evenings and on weekends. She found the description of CG in the handout reassuring, because it gave a name to her experiences. She saw many aspects of herself and her situation in the material. Upon hearing about the revisiting exercises, particularly the imaginal revisiting, she became very anxious. She asked many questions about how telling the horrifying story of waking up in bed next to her deceased husband could possibly be helpful.