Coping with the terminal illness of a colleague in a mental health organization.


This article is about the struggle with terminal cancer of a founding member of the Aiglé Foundation, María Teresa Nieto. The aim is to describe the role that the integrative psychotherapy model (MIP; Fernández-Álvarez, 1992/2001, 2008) played in supporting her and the organization in coming to terms with her illness and subsequent death in May 2017 by developing coping strategies and constructing healthy meanings to face this painful circumstance. María Teresa enjoyed a long and distinguished career as a clinical psychologist. At Aigle Foundation, she worked as a couples therapist and clinical supervisor. Along with Diana Kirszman, she was the first editor of the Revista Argentina de Clínica Psicológica [Argentine Journal of Clinical Psychology]. From 1995 to 2012, María Teresa was a member of both the Society for the Exploration of Psychotherapy Integration (SEPI) and the editorial board of the Journal of Psychotherapy Integration. We witnessed María Teresa’s battle with her illness up to her last moments. Her legacy to us can be summarized in two words: tenacity and commitment. Thus, this article examines three broad dimensions and related interventions at both the personal and institutional levels: (1) affective-emotional–emotional regulation in the face of news regarding a terminal illness, (2) cognitive-behavioral–reformulation of daily routines using problem solving strategies, and (3) spiritual-transcendent–developing actions to foster spiritual growth. The scope and limitations of these interventions are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)