I just got back from my annual trip to see the family on the Mornington Peninsula. They all seem to be doing fine – dad has taken the whole experience of mum’s passing away in his stride, as far can be expected. He’s always been fairly stoic about life in general, and it’s not like he has any shortage of support – my brothers both live nearby, plus dad’s involved in about a million clubs and meet-up groups.
Still, I have to admit that I’ve been a bit concerned about his wellbeing over the past six months, and hoping he hadn’t taken to blocking out his feelings with a constant stream of activity. For all his talents, I’ve noted in the past that engaging in grieving processes isn’t one of them. He is someone who could definitely benefit from professional psychological support in that area.
So I was relieved to find out from Joe (my older bro) that dad has been attending sessions at a good psychology clinic near Mornington. My town isn’t short on quality services of this nature, and dad isn’t exactly badly off, so it would be kind of silly (in my opinion) if he didn’t opt for some form of counselling – which, according to Joe, is what he is currently receiving. I did tell dad that Joe had mentioned it to me, and he said it had been really helpful, but that he didn’t want to go on about it.
Naturally, I pressed Joe for more information and he told me that it had started off with dad having some sleeping problems, and then being referred by his GP to a psychiatry service close to Mornington. Joe had seen dad going into his appointment and asked him about it. As it turned out, counselling has been sufficient in treating the sleep issues, and psychiatric treatment in the form of drugs hasn’t been necessary.
It’s typical of dad to keep something like going to a psychologist to himself, and still be willing to talk about it (if only briefly) when asked about it.