Bereavement and Grief

Dual Process Model

In Robert Neimeyer’s book, Meaning Reconstruction & the Experience of Loss (2001), he discusses how grief is not linear or detached. It is deeply personal and his model helps to make sense of the disorientation and confusion that occurs with grief. His emphasis is on finding new meaning by reflecting and understanding rather than “moving on” and “recovery”. He outlines how to rebuild one’s sense of meaning, identity, and worldview. He goes on to explain how people gradually r

Four-Stage Model

William Worden wrote a book in 1982, Grief Counselling and Grief Therapy: A Handbook for the Mental Health Practitioner, that details his interpretation of the grieving process. In his book, he lays out the four tasks of mourning which involve coming to terms with the loss and processing it. 1. Accept reality of loss Accept the death. Not to deny or minimize 2. Work through pain of grief We express grief emotionally, cognitively, physically, and spiritually. 3. Adjust to the

In 1917, Sigmund Freud wrote an essay titled ‘ Mourning and Melancholia’ . In this essay, he explains his theory on the psychological process of grief as a response to the loss of a loved one. He argues that even though mourning and melancholia share some similarities, they differ. Mourning Sigmund Freud explains that “mourning involves grave departures from the normal attitude to life” and “the reaction to the loss of someone who is loved, contains the same painful frame of

This theory was first developed by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in 1969. It’s first name was ‘The five stages of death’. Since then it has been known by various names and the details of this theory have also changed. Kubler-Ross believed that individuals go through the following five stages of death as a way to come to terms with their own death. Later on it was changed to apply to anyone that is going through grief. First Stage: Denial and Isolation In this stage, the individual be

There are many symptoms that one experiences after losing someone. This is a list of a few of them broken down into categories. There are some symptoms that contraction each other. Most people while grieving tend to gravitate to one extreme or the other. While everyone grieves differently there are a few common symptoms. Emotional Fear Anxiety Panic Feelings of worry or dread Sadness/sorrow Longing for what’s gone Loneliness Desire for connection Numbness or detachment Feelin

Welcome to introduction to bereavement and grief! Out of all our experiences in life, death is one of the most mysterious. It is a...