BREAVEMENT AND GRIEF COUNSELLING Bereavement literally means the state of being deprived of s omeone by death and
refers to being in the state of mourning. Grief is the subjective feeling precipitated by the death of a loved one. Mourning -the societal expression of grief; the process by which grief is resolved. Grief counselling is a form of psychotherapy that aims to help people cope with grief
and mourning following the death of loved ones, or with major life changes that trigger feelings of grief (e.g., divorce). Grief therapy is a kind of psychotherapy psychotherapy used to treat severe or complicated traumatic
grief reactions, which are usually brought on by the loss of a close person (by separation or death) or by community disaster. The goal of grief therapy is to identify and solve the psychological and emotional problems which appeared as a consequence. Types of bereavement
Childhood Bereavement
Death of a child
Death of a spouse
Death of a parent
Death of a sibling
Other losses FIVE STAGES OF GRIEF (Kubler Ross,1969)
1.
Shock/denial (No. it cant be true )
2.
Anger
(why is t his happening to me?)
3. Bargaining (I promise Ill be better person if.) 4.
Depression (I
dont care any more)
5.
Acceptance (Im read y y for whatever comes)
All
individuals do not experience each of these changes in response to a loss, nor do they
necessarily experience them in this order. Some individuals grieving behaviors may f luctuate, and even overlap b/w stages. What is normal grief?
This is a term used to describe the typical symptoms somebody experiences after bereavement. Anticipatory Grief Pathological(Abnormal) grief
Grief therapy Grief therapy is a kind of psychotherapy used to treat se vere or complicated traumatic
grief reactions, which are usually brought on by the loss of a close person (by separation or death) or by community disaster. The goal of grief therapy is to identify and solve the psychological and emotional
problems which appeared as a consequence. They may appear as behavioural or physical changes, psychosomatic disturbances,
delayed or extreme mourning, conflictual problems or sudden and unexpected mourning.
Grief
therapy may be available as individual or g roup therapy. A common area where
grief therapy has been extensively applied is with the parents of cancer patients. Models of grief therapy
1) Four tasks of mourning (J.William Wordens,1991) 2) Meaning Reconstruction (Robert Neimeyers,1998 ) Tasks of mourning
1. To Accept the Reality of the Loss On one level, this isstraightforward: the facts of the l oss need to be recognized. 2. To Work Through the Pain of the Grief
First, grieving persons may actively seek to avoid painful feelings and thoughts. The therapists role is to both sit with the persons painful feelings and to help him or her exp ress these. 3. To Adjust to an Environment in Which the Deceased is Missing deceased person has often played many roles in the survivors li fe. In some cases, the survivors self-definition has depended heavily on his or her relationship with the deceased person. In such cases it is often helpful to engage the survivor in an active process of selfperception. Group therapy is an especially powerful venue toward this end. 4. To Emotionally Relocate the Deceased & Move on with Life A
In therapy, it is often more useful to facilitate the grieving persons recognition that the lost person is never really forgotten and in that se nse that the grieving process never ends. Strengths It places a strong clear emphasis on the feeling experiences of grieving persons. It is relatively easily understood and applied without necessarily relying on its psychodynamic underpinnings. By presenting tasks it provides a structure for the grieving person as well as the therapist. This set of tasks can provide grieving persons a se nse of order, self- control, and self determination in their lives. Criticism Implicit stage like quality. It is very tempting to fit all grieving individuals into a mold of working through the stages(tasks) of grieving. Nothing could be less therapeutic. y y
y
y
y y
y
Meaning reconstruction with grieving persons (Robert Neimeyer,1998) Emphasizes the uniqueness of individuals experiences of grieving. Life- a story telling process Grief therapy is primarily an opportunity for grieving persons to tell their stories in ways
that will help them to make sense of loss and of life. People write and rewrite their stories and thus dev elop a sense of meaning, purpose,
and identity. Losses disrupt our stories; significant stories often trigger a search for meaning. Consequently
in grief therapy the reconstruction of the grieving persons narrative will
be taking place.
This grief therapy consists of variety of activities which intended to self reflection, a
search for meaning and ultimately a new story about oneself. Verbal techniques y
W riting
letter to t he diseased to express feeling and to accept ne w realit y
y
K eeping
a journal to label t heir ow n experiences during a loss and after w ards.
y
W riting poetr y etc.
Less verbal techniques y
Draw ing
stories of events in ones life, including a draw ing about t he loss.
y
C ompiling
y
P ersonal rituals
y
Strengths
a book of photograph
Existentially oriented approach Begins with search for meaning in life in the face of loss It encompasses a variety of techniques with the goal of he lping grieving persons
to make sense of their lives again Its applicability of treatments to different types of losses and grievers Criticisms
Too much emphasis on the cognitive and volitional aspects of the person. Conclusion The experience of loss, particularly through death, is usually a confusing experience that
triggers a search for meaning in the majority of bereaved persons. Grief therapy can provide the grievers with a scheme of mourning and recovery by
working through the tasks of mourning. Thus grief therapy helps the griever in reconstructing the meaning of ones life.
