In my graduation thesis, I research the farewell rituals and grief of social workers following the death of their users. In the theoretical introduction, I present dying and death in today's society, palliative care, accompanying the dying in social work, mourning and farewell rituals and the distress social workers face when accompanying the dying. In this study I was interested in the emotional level of working with dying users, how social workers gireve for users, the farewell rituals that help social workers to cope with loss, the ways in which the institution where social workers are employed facilitates the grieving of staff meberes, how work and professional experiences influence social workers' mourning, and how working with the dying affects social workers' personal attitudes towards mortality and death. I conducted a qualitative study involving eight social workers. I found that social workers are often in contact with dying users and are available to talk and provide emotional support. Most social workers experience difficult feelings upon the death of a user, with the intensity of these feelings depending on their attachment to the user. Social workers cope with these feelings in various ways, with varying degrees of support from the organisation. After a user's death, social workers engage in various individual farewell rituals, and there are also group rituals within the organization. Work experience has contributed to easier mourning for social workers and has also led to a different understanding of transience. I suggest that social workers receive appropriate forms of support from their organizations. Additionally, I recommend education for social workers regarding death and dying, as well as the importance of self-care.
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