Four Tasks of Mourning

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 environment without deceased

• Adjusting to life without your loved one can be external, internal or spiritual.

• External: taking on new roles, responsibility and skills

• Internally: Adapt to new identity

• Spiritually: changes to beliefs, morals and values. Questioning the meaning of life and belief system

4. Emotionally relocate the deceased and move on with life

• Creating a healthy balance between remembering the person and moving forward in life