Sara's Story Sara's sister died of cancer four years ago. Sara had been grieving since that time...

Sara is a quiet, 15-year-old Latina high school student. Sara’s sister died of cancer about four years ago. Sara had been grieving since that time, and keeping her feelings almost entirely to herself. The family had naturally felt deep shock at the time and had never really processed the experience. Sara came to believe that her parents had told her that she should simply “move on.” Although her parents appeared to be stoic, she also felt that she didn’t want to burden them further with her own sadness.

About a year ago, Sara began having thoughts of finding her life unbearable and wishing it would end. Today, she came forward for the first time and told a school counselor about her feelings. She said the thoughts of wanting her life to be over had increased to the point that she had actually begun thinking about taking action. In fact, she had taken a few pills about a week ago with vague thoughts of wanting to get some sort of respite. She came forward because she was beginning to feel concerned about her ability to remain safe.

An EMQ clinician spent about an hour and a half with Sara and her parents. Sara had an opportunity to express her feelings freely, some for the first time, in a safe and supportive atmosphere. The experience of expressing herself provided her with some immediate relief. Perhaps more importantly, it gave her the sense that it is possible to share her feelings, feel supported and see things in a different light. Her parents had the opportunity, with the assistance of the EMQ clinician, to share their own feelings of grief with their daughter and to convey their deep love and concern for Sara—something that they had been unable to do for four years. A real breakthrough in communication occurred, drawing on the natural resources of family love and relationship. Specific arrangements were made for Sara to begin regular therapy, and for the family to share their feelings with the support of ongoing grief counseling.

The school counselor could have called 911. In this case, Sara would have been taken to Emergency Psychiatric Services at Valley Medical Hospital. There, due to the nature of EPS as an emergency room facility, she would have had a shorter assessment that would have focused on her immediate safety issues and would not have involved her parents. She might have been transferred to a psychiatric hospital on a 72-hour hold. She would thus have been wrenched away from her family for the first time for several days and placed in an environment that is foreign and usually experienced as harsh by children, in spite of hospital staff’s best efforts. She might have been placed on medications, and the family might have been given little or no assistance in seeking follow-up treatment due to the hospital’s limited resources in this regard. More likely, she would have been found to be not immediately at risk and would have been discharged without follow-up support. Because of EMQ, Sara was able to get the support she needed.

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Confidentiality of EMQ children and families has been preserved
through the use of models. Some stories may be composites of multiple cases.