Dueling Unit
We are an institution that facilitates the process of mourning for the loss of loved ones through personal accompaniment, groups and / or alternative therapies, we also carry out accompaniment based on psychological, medical and pedagogical strategies to the suffering and non-suffering community freely, open and free, in order to facilitate the grieving process for the loss of loved ones and generate a culture on the issue of death and grief that contributes positively to the mental health of the population.
1990 - 2000
The Unit Duel was born in 1998 as a proposal from the Funeraria San Vicente S.A. in the face of the violence that hit the city of Medellín in the 80s and 90s.
2000 - 2005
From this, the Institutional Conference begins: Surviving after the loss of a loved one, which has been held for 23 years and uninterruptedly in Villanueva Casa de Velación, from there the personalized attention arises and before the growth of the demand, the first support group.
2006 - 2010
Due to the increase in the population served, in 2005, the San Vicente Funeral Home moved the Mourning Unit to an independent building with three floors, equipped with offices and an auditorium for different groups according to the cause and the relationship with the deceased.
Since 2010, it has been authorized as IPS by the Antioquia Health Section to provide external consultation services in psychology and medicine.
2011 -2022
Currently, the Mourning Unit of the San Vicente Funeral Home is a leader in accompaniment and awareness on issues of death and mourning for the suffering and non-suffering community, it has 8 support groups, 5 alternative therapy workshops, home care, participation and realization of academic events, which makes us a benchmark for the community and for other institutions interested in accompaniment in grief.
2011 - 2022
Year 2020
We start our Audiovisual Workshop: Life in short, the heart through the lens. A therapeutic space to rebuild the meaning of life through audiovisual techniques.
This workshop was born as an idea to express in other ways what patients were unable to say with words, since it allows them to use different tools than those used in other therapies that are offered.
Audiovisual tools allow patients through videos to express their emotions and feelings through creativity, applied knowledge and the motivation to keep the memory of their loved one alive.
2011 - 2022
Year 2020
We are facing one of the greatest challenges in global history.
The Covid-19 pandemic represented a series of challenges in our work, forcing us to reconsider new forms of accompaniment for the mourners, in addition to rethinking new strategies to ritualize and honor loved ones who are dying as a result of this situation.
Digitality undoubtedly marked a before and after in our way of interacting with society. The need to look for options so that families could go through the pain of the loss of their loved ones allowed us to create a virtual support group for Losses due to Covid-19, where every Monday around 40 people connected to talk and express what that they were feeling and living. Thanks to these virtual alternatives, virtual conferences and individual consultations also emerged to continue providing support to the mourners.
2011 - 2022
Year 2022
The Grief Unit publishes two articles in conjunction with the University of San Buenaventura on grief and social networks.
These investigations allowed us to understand and acquire more knowledge about the new ways and digital tools that people have to live their grief and share experiences with other people.
Historically, sadness, affliction and mourning have been considered as a socially relevant but intimate process, however, recently we have noticed that, through their profiles on social networks, mourners publish content associated with death, loss and your grieving process.
Pillars
1. There are no commercial proposals, we focus on improving the quality of life.
2. None of our services has a cost.
3. All activities are free and open to whoever needs them and for as long as they need it.
4. We are respectful of religious beliefs and political positions.
5. Spaces of sadness and pain are not used for advertising.
6. We do not offer legal advice for matters concerning the death of a loved one.
7. We do not receive external financial support.
8. All information about our patients is confidential.
9. Our interventions are framed in the legal and ethical provisions that govern the practice of health sciences in Colombia.
WE ARE COMMITTED TO PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE AND HIGH QUALITY SERVICE.
Values
SOLIDARITY: We are a company committed to society, we act in order to help people at the time of the loss of loved ones.
ETHICS: We proceed with integrity, we are consistent with our principles and we demonstrate the rectitude of our actions every day.
HONESTY: We are known for being transparent in our behavior inside and outside the organization. We act consistently and faithfully comply with our clients.
BELONGING: We feel like an integral part of the company and we act according to the mission, vision and proposed objectives.
HUMAN AND DIGNIFIED WORK: Our actions are developed according to the needs of the people and are carried out by our work team with respect, consideration and sensitivity.
SAFETY: We carry out our work taking into account self-care.
Mission and Vision
Missionary objective: We carry out accompaniment from psychological, medical and pedagogical strategies to the suffering and non-suffering community, in a free, open and gratuitous way, in order to facilitate the process of mourning for the loss of loved ones and generate a culture about the theme of death and mourning, which contributes positively to the mental health of the population.
Our work team
We have a passionate and committed team, we recognize the relevance of accompaniment and service during the grieving process.
Juan Sebastián Acosta Zapata
Psychologist - Master in Clinical Psychology / Director of Grief Unit
"Grief is a creative process, it involves developing new ways of being in a world that we do not know without the presence of the one we loved. Accompanying those who are trying to find new meanings is a privilege for me."
Diana María Peláez Cardona
Psychologist - Specialist in End-of-Life Care
"Accompanying people in their mourning process is resignifying their sense of life. For me, working with death is working with life"
Cristian Camilo Arbeláez
Psychologist - Master of Literature
"Accompanying grief is constant learning about the meaning of death, but more than that, about the resignification of life"
Andrés Camilo García Castrillón
Psychologist - Candidate for Master in Clinical Psychology
"Working with mourning is accompanying people to rebuild from pain, it is providing a new sense of life from the absence of the loved one"
Lisy Samaira Castro Machado
Psychologist
"Being part of the support team for people in mourning is a task that involves working with death and life simultaneously; recognizing that it is possible to start over, living differently."
Fredy Alberto Gómez Galviz
Psychologist - Master's in Clinical Psychology
"Counseling someone through grief is a constant learning process about the meaning of death, but more than that, about the meaning of life."
Susana Jiménez
Psychologist
"Supporting grieving individuals has taught me to recognize the diverse searches human beings make to cope with suffering, constructing new meanings in life that allow them to continue."
Omar Alfonso Puerta
Psychologist
"Through my work with the bereaved, I have learned to be more aware of the responsibility that comes with working with people's mental health, both on a human and scientific level."
María Denis Hincapié Arango
Psychologist - Specialist in Social Management / Coordinator of Significant Rituals
"Working with the grieving process is being aware of the invitation to a deep reflection: pain crosses the being and reveals the possibility of being reborn, of finding new ways to continue."
Laura Marcela Vasco Castaño
Psychologist of the Significant Rituals program - Specialist in Psychosocial Interventions
"Working with mourners in their grieving process has allowed me to accompany people to move forward and find a new sense of themselves and of life."
Susana Jiménez
Psychologist
Nelly Chaverra
General Service assistant
"Working with grieving people makes me learn a lot about life and death, it allows me to be next to a team that supports me and I feel that my work contributes to the grieving process of many people. I feel loved and respected. Unity of Duelo, the patients and my companions, are like my family."
Carolina Zapata
Administrative assistant
"Working in the Grief Unit has taught me to be a better person by being more humane and sensitive to the pain of others."
Cristina Uribe
Administrative assistant
"Being part of the Grief Unit team is one of the jobs I have loved the most since I started working at Funeraria San Vicente. Being here has allowed me to understand and side with the mourners, helping them in their grieving process."
Excellent service! and also excellent professionals who accompany the grieving process, infinite thanks.