Introduction
Death is an unavoidable finale in human existence, but it often leads to grief and despair in the deceased person’s family. To honor people’s affection for one another and the memories they share over their lifetime, it is essential to ensure those afflicted by demise are given an appropriate farewell. Families usually choose a funeral home for assistance in procession based on their financial situation. At a funeral home, the professionals help the relatives of the perished person to collect the body, finalize the legal documentation, organize wake and burring ceremonies, and provide a chapel. Working with corpses can be a traumatic experience for some individuals, especially if they are new to the profession. Therefore, it is essential to provide aftercare to ensure adequate mental health services are provided to the staff at the funeral homes. This essay explores the significance of these services for the professionals working in funeral homes. Indeed, aftercare and support groups will not only aid workers overcome the trauma caused after organizing the burial, but it can train them to become more emotionally resilient in performing their arduous duties.
Mental Health Services Provided to the Funeral Homes Staff
It is vital to emphasize the significance of the aftercare services provided to bereaved individuals and those working in funeral homes. It will give the professionals a significant amount of time and opportunities to recover from the harrowing experience of working with dead bodies. Notably, it is increasingly important for professionals to access the network of psychological counseling assistance sponsored by the funeral home. In that case, the staff will feel less burden and pressure about paying for the mental health services that are critical in their job.
When it comes to building an aftercare program for professionals working in this market, the first thing that needs to be considered is putting together a group of people who share the same interest in receiving the services. The team will be comprised of competent individuals from various funeral facilities. The aftercare program facilitator will select the leaders of each group, and then the facilitator will distribute different responsibilities among them. The most crucial objective of the aftercare program is to help workers in this field overcome trauma and help them attain emotional stability through encouragement and discussion of the participants’ stories.
The psychological well-being of those working in the field will be given the highest priority because the quality of the services provided is directly related to the mental stability of the staff. A troubled worker may be more likely to commit errors in one’s work, which could be detrimental to the funeral home. The program will concentrate on locating qualified mental health experts to whom aftercare program leaders will delegate the responsibility of providing counseling to the employees of funeral homes who experience feelings of emotional exhaustion. Furthermore, the program will devise a strategy for purchasing liability insurance coverage on behalf of the professionals. If they are sued, the protection provided by the insurance will ensure that they are not financially affected. The incident may occur due to a grieving family complaining to the funeral home that their loved one’s body was not adequately managed. Therefore, the insurance coverage will protect them in such cases.
Some people who work at funeral homes engage in substance use, including heavy drinking or using illicit drugs. These individuals usually try exogenous substances to boost their minds to remain functional in the latter case or to block out distressing memories of the mortuary process in the former situation. These unhealthy habits can negatively affect their physical health and may become the reason for them to lose their employment. Moreover, substance abuse leads to the breakdown of families, and when there are no supportive figures in an individual’s life, there is a greater risk of morbidity and mortality.
The proposed aftercare program will involve the participation of psychologists and therapists to work with the staff of funeral homes. As part of the initiative, a support group will be established to create a network of people with similar traumatic experiences. Its members will travel to employees’ homes to evaluate their mental health and provide aid to them and their families. Furthermore, the program’s administrators will establish an online forum via which funeral home workers will be able to discuss the challenges they face at any convenient time and place. This measure should ensure constant access to professional mental health assistance. Lastly, it may grow into a more extensive web that will connect funeral homes across the country.
Conclusion
In summary, the personnel at funeral homes provide bereaved families with an essential service that only a small portion of the general population can perform. Despite their dedication and commitment, society does not acknowledge properly the tasks they perform, regardless of how much effort they exert. As a result, they are left with disappointment and tension, which drives them to slide towards depression and substance use. Thus, society needs to design a program involving mental health professionals and support groups to reduce these individuals’ everyday suffering.