By Michael J. Marx
The death of Sam’s daughter has turned his life upside down. She died suddenly and tragically. He feels caught totally off guard. He now must deal with the funeral, the insurance, and the family coming in from all over the country. When will he have time to grieve?
Your phone rings: “Hi this is Sam. I really need to talk with you.”
“Okay Sam, I’ve got plenty of time right now. How can I help you?”
“Well, my daughter took her life on Saturday.”
“Oh my, I’m so sorry Sam. How are you feeling?”
“I’m not sure. The reason I am calling you is because I need help dealing all these things coming at me? I feel so confused and alone.”
Sam needs coaching on moving through the crisis. His immediate need is not counseling, although that is surely also on the table. Your job is to help him sort out the situation and come up with an action plan. This is not therapy. It’s life coaching.
Here is a short list you could help Sam with by talking through the below issues:
- How to arrange for a proper funeral?
- How to arrange for food and benevolence from friends and family?
- How to set aside time and energy to grieve?
- How to honor the memory and establish healthy thoughts?
- How to pray?
If I wanted to hand someone a book that could help them get their head around a death, I would give them Good Grief by Granger E. Westberg. If I wanted a book on the processing of a loss, I would recommend Good Mourning by Allan High Cole Jr.
My organization, Coaching Suicide Awareness is hosting an all-day online event on the topic of “Coaching those Affected by Suicide” on September 10, 2022, which is Global Suicide Awareness Day. You can learn more about this at: https://coachingsuicideawareness.com/esummit-2022/
Michael J. Marx, MBA, EdD. Michael is an ICF Professional Certified Coach (PCC) specializing in business coaching and corporate consultation, and he has the Christian Master Certified Coach (CMCC) credential from CCNI. Dr. Marx has served as the leader of the ICF ‘Global Community of Practice on Ethics.’ He also serves on the ICF Independent Review Board and leads the team for the Ethical Interpretive Statements. Additionally, he is a past-president of Christian Coaches Network International and the author of Ethics and Risk Management for Christian Coaches (2016). He serves as the Administrative Director of Success Unlimited Network. He has also founded a non-profit call Coaching Suicide Awareness
