PARENTING IN THE MIDST OF GRIEF: A CASE STUDY IN FAMILY PSYCHOTHERAPY

Abstract

Parenting of children occurs when responsible adults are unable to fully exercise the parental function due to emotional immaturity or significant regression, which can be favored by some environmental contexts, such as the death of one of the parents. The objective of this article is to discuss the repercussions of the parenting process as a result of the death of one of the members of the parental couple on the development of the child. Through the clinical case of Alan and Ellen, father and daughter attended at the Applied Psychology Service of a university in Rio de Janeiro, we will discuss the consequences of parenting in the midst of grief in family experiences, and how family psychotherapy can contribute to the construction of boundaries that allow the child a space for expression through play,  and to the bereaved adult the strengthening of their parenting, slowing down the parenting process.