Medical Psychology
It’s like watching a horror movie…
Until you realize this is real, and it’s happening to your family.
Your child has been diagnosed with a serious medical condition.
Your world as you knew it has just been turned upside down.
Call today for a free Consultation
When your child is significantly injured or diagnosed with an acute or chronic medical condition, your lives are forever changed.
You enter a new world of doctors, tests, procedures, and often hospitals. In that “medical” world there are new people, experiences, and languages.
There’s real terror and fear.
Your baby is sick or hurt.
She has to go through numerous medical procedures, operations, or hospitalizations.
He may never lead a normal life…
She may never grow up, become an adult, get married, or have children…
How are we going to cope?
You’re extremely overwhelmed. It’s all still so new.
Dealing with a serious medical condition is stressful for your entire family.
In the initial phases, there’s shock, uncertainty, worry, and hope. Once a diagnosis is made, it’s common for family members to be in denial that this could be happening, as well as pleading, or bargaining, for it to end.
There’s a rush of family members and friends to offer help and support, but you don’t even know what you need. It’s even worse if there’s no extended support, or you feel alone and isolated.
As you begin to learn to navigate this new world, you’re educated about your child’s condition and his needs.
A new “normal”.
You begin to adjust to the medical treatments, tests, and procedures.
The initial rush of adrenaline to figure out what’s wrong and help your child is replaced by acceptance, which is sometimes more like resignation.
At this point, parents and families also begin to feel fatigued from the initial bursts of anxiety and dealing with the catastrophe.
You realize this is going to be a long process: a marathon, not a sprint.
As time and the newness of it all passes, new issues may begin to emerge.
If you have other children, they may begin to display signs of stress or acting out.
You and your spouse are too tired at the end of the day to talk, let alone be intimate. Even if you have someone you can trust to watch your children, you just don’t have energy to go out.
You just don’t know how to manage all the needs, including your own.
I’ll support your family in several ways.
First, I’ll identify family members’ feelings and support your grief over not having a “healthy” child.
Next, I’ll teach you strategies to navigate the medical community. I’ll help you, your child, and family learn how to cope in this new world.
Together, we’ll develop creative ways to have quality family time.
I’ll also be available to problem-solve other issues that may arise, such as increasing your child’s compliance with medical regimes, or decreasing anxiety about medical procedures.
This process, and new world, doesn’t have to be so scary or painful.