| Course | SOCW 6204 Medical Social Work I |
|---|---|
| Week | Week 7 |
| Paper type | Anticipatory grief intervention plan |
| Length | About 800 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Walden University |
| Program | Master of Social Work (MSW) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for SOCW 6204 Week 7
Grieving Losses Already Under Way: An Anticipatory Grief Intervention Plan for a Patient Who Will Not Live Alone Again and Four Family Members, With One Row per Person, Family Work Including a Recorded Book of Her Recipes in Haitian Creole and a Bereavement Section Built on Worden's Tasks
Student Name
Walden University
SOCW 6204: Medical Social Work I
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Grieving Losses Already Under Way: An Anticipatory Grief Intervention Plan for a Patient Who Will Not Live Alone Again and Four Family Members, With One Row per Person, Family Work Including a Recorded Book of Her Recipes in Haitian Creole and a Bereavement Section Built on Worden's Tasks
Why Grief Is the Focus Now
Mrs. Augustin, whose case this course follows, has now spent three weeks in short-term rehabilitation. Her walking has leveled off at short distances with a walker, her heart failure has progressed and she tires after a few minutes of activity. Last week the team told her and her family that she is unlikely to be able to live alone again. She is not expected to die soon, but the family is already losing things that mattered: her independence, her apartment, her Sunday cooking and the version of her they knew.
Rando (2000) describes anticipatory mourning as a response not only to a death expected later but to losses already happening and losses still to come in the course of an illness. That framing fits this family. Their grief is about what is changing now, and treating it as premature would leave it unaddressed. Nielsen et al. (2016), in a systematic review of caregiver studies, found that anticipatory grief during end-of-life caregiving was associated with poorer outcomes for caregivers after the death, while being prepared for the death was associated with better ones, which supports attending to grief and preparation early.
Plan for Each Person
Table 1
Losses, Signs of Grief, Goals and Interventions by Family Member
| Person | What is being lost now | How grief shows | Goal | Interventions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mrs. Augustin | Her apartment, independence, her role as cook and caregiver | Quiet, refuses some therapy, says "what is the point" | To name what she is losing and choose what she can keep | Individual sessions with interpreter; involve her in decisions about her belongings and next setting |
| Nadège, daughter | Her mother as she was; time with her own children | Irritable, exhausted, guilty about not taking her mother home | To grieve without guilt and accept help | Individual support; caregiver support group; respite planning |
| Son in Florida | Chances to be present | Calls often, asks about tests, plans a visit then postpones | To decide on a visit while it can still matter to her | Phone sessions; help planning a visit with his sister |
| Grandson, 17 | Sunday dinners at her apartment | Avoids visiting | To find a way to spend time with her that feels manageable | Short visits with a task, such as recording her stories |
| Granddaughter, 15 | Her grandmother's cooking and stories | Cries after visits, asks if she is dying | To have her questions answered honestly at her age | Conversation with her mother and the social worker; join the recipe project |
Each row was discussed with the person named, or with a parent for the grandchildren.
Family-Level Work
A family meeting with the palliative care team will be held next week, with an interpreter, to explain what to expect as her heart failure progresses and to revisit the goals Mrs. Augustin named in the advance care planning conversation. The meeting is also a chance for family members to hear one another's worries.
A legacy project will record Mrs. Augustin's recipes and stories in Haitian Creole. Her granddaughter, who speaks some Creole, and her grandson, who is good with a phone camera, will interview her during visits, asking her to describe how she makes diri ak pwa and soup joumou and who taught her. The recordings and transcriptions will become a family book. The project gives the grandchildren a reason to visit, gives Mrs. Augustin a role as the one who knows, and keeps something of her Sunday cooking even though she can no longer cook.
Bereavement Planning
When Mrs. Augustin dies, the family's grief will continue in a different form. Worden (2018) frames mourning as four pieces of work: taking in that the loss is real, getting through the pain of it, learning to live in a changed world, and keeping a bond with the person while moving on. The plan anticipates support for each. The legacy book and the family meeting begin the work of acceptance and connection now. After the death, the hospice or palliative team's bereavement program will offer Nadège individual support, and the grandchildren will be referred to a school counselor or a children's grief group if their parents wish. Her son, who lives far away, may need help finding support where he lives.
Review
The plan will be reviewed at the family meeting and every two weeks after. If Mrs. Augustin's refusal of therapy reflects depression rather than grief, the social worker will raise a referral for evaluation with the team.
The legacy book will be given to every family member, including her son in Florida.
References
Nielsen, M. K., Neergaard, M. A., Jensen, A. B., Bro, F., & Guldin, M.-B. (2016). Do we need to change our understanding of anticipatory grief in caregivers? A systematic review of caregiver studies during end-of-life caregiving and bereavement. Clinical Psychology Review, 44, 75-93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2016.01.002
Rando, T. A. (Ed.). (2000). Clinical dimensions of anticipatory mourning: Theory and practice in working with the dying, their loved ones, and their caregivers. Research Press.
Worden, J. W. (2018). Grief counseling and grief therapy: A handbook for the mental health practitioner (5th ed.). Springer Publishing Company.
SOCW 6204 Week 7 instructions, in plain terms
In Week 7, write an intervention plan for anticipatory grief in a patient and family. Begin with a paragraph explaining why grief is the focus now, using a recognized account of anticipatory grief or mourning. Build a table with one row for each family member, including children, naming what that person is losing now, how their grief shows, a goal and one or two interventions. Add family-level interventions, such as a meeting with the palliative team or a legacy project. Close with a bereavement section that anticipates support after the death, organized by a recognized model of mourning. Cite research on anticipatory grief and caregiving. Write the plan so each family member's grief is taken seriously on its own terms.
How the SOCW 6204 Week 7 example is put together
The grief plan explains the turning point, the team's message that she will not live alone again, and frames it with Rando and Nielsen and colleagues. The table gives five rows: Mrs. Augustin losing her apartment and role, her daughter's exhaustion and guilt, her son's postponed visit, her grandson avoiding visits and her granddaughter asking if she is dying, each with a goal and interventions. A family section plans a palliative care meeting and a project in which the grandchildren record her recipes and stories in Haitian Creole. The bereavement section uses Worden's four tasks to plan support for her daughter, the grandchildren and her son, and a review section names a depression screen if needed.
Where the marks sit in the SOCW 6204 Week 7 rubric
The per-person table is weighed most heavily. Graders check that each family member's current losses are named specifically and that interventions fit that person, including the children. The framing of anticipatory grief should be accurate and show why grief work is not premature. Family-level interventions earn credit when they address shared loss and give members a role. The bereavement section should use its model correctly and plan concrete support. Attention to culture and language, such as recording stories in the family's language, shows sensitivity. Plans that treat the family as one unit, ignore children, offer generic support groups for everyone or omit bereavement planning fall into the middle range.
SOCW 6204 Week 7 help: mistakes that cost marks
Ask each family member, separately where possible, what they feel they are losing right now; the answers differ more than you expect. Watch for grief that shows as irritability, avoidance or constant questions. Give each person a goal that fits their age and situation. Look for a family project that turns a loss into something made together. Plan bereavement support before it is needed, including for family members who live far away. Use the family's language and traditions. Review the plan often, since grief changes. The tutoring desk can help with the table, and the grief plan on this page includes all five family members.
Get a SOCW 6204 Week 7 example written to your instructions
Who is dying, who is grieving and how far apart they live: those facts from your Week 7 scenario, plus the prompt and rubric, are the foundation the plan is built on. Mention any grief model your section prefers over Rando or Worden. The plan returns within 24-48 hours, free as a first custom sample, around a family that exists only in the example.
More SOCW 6204 papers and MSW samples
- SOCW 6204 Week 1: Role Brief
- SOCW 6204 Week 2: Inpatient Psychosocial Assessment
- SOCW 6204 Week 3: Caregiver Burden Assessment
- SOCW 6204 Week 4: Discharge Planning Note
- SOCW 6204 Week 5: Level of Care Recommendation
- SOCW 6204 Week 6: Advance Care Planning Note
- SOCW 6204 Week 8: Rounds Summary
- SOCW 6204 Week 9: Health Disparities Case Analysis
- SOCW 6204 Week 10: Patient Advocacy Letter
- SOCW 6204 Week 11: Complex Discharge Case Study
- SOCW 6500 Week 7: Engagement Skills Critique
- SOCW 6121 Week 7: Family Intervention Plan
SOCW 6204 Week 7 questions, answered
Where can I find a free SOCW 6204 Week 7 sample paper?
The anticipatory grief plan, with its five-row table and recipe project, is reproduced above.
How does the SOCW 6204 Week 7 sample define anticipatory grief?
Following Rando, as a response to losses already happening as well as a death expected later.
What is the legacy project?
The grandchildren record her recipes and stories in Haitian Creole for a family book.
Which model organizes the bereavement section?
Worden's four tasks of mourning.
Why include the grandchildren?
Their grief shows differently, through avoidance and questions, and needs its own goals.