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Supporting People through Loss and Grief : an Introduction for Counsellors and Other Caring Practitioners.

This accessible handbook provides a comprehensive guide to working with people experiencing grief, bereavement and loss. It covers theories and models of grief, essential skills and how to support people in practice. It is essential reading for counsellors, bereavement support volunteers, palliative care nurses, students and trainers.

Supporting People through Loss and Grief: An Introduction for Counsellors and Other Caring Practitioners; Foreword; Acknowledgements; Introduction; A note about third-person singular pronouns in this book; A note for practitioners not working to a counselling model; The case studies; An introduction for trainers; Chapter 1 The Nature of Grief; Loss disrupts the ordered narrative of our life; Working definitions; Grief in a historical account; Evidence of the universality of grief; What is grief for?; Factors affecting normal grief; The controversial nature of complicated grief. Common features of normal, healthy griefResearchers' arguments for and against diagnosing complicated grief; The pros and cons of a CG diagnosis; Risk factors for CG; Complicated grief and DSM-5; A professional reflection; A note for health professionals referring to a bereavement service; Summary and conclusions; Notes for trainers; Chapter 2 Theories of Grief: Historical Perspectives; The promise of science; Alexander Faulkner Shand; Sigmund Freud; Karl Abraham; Melanie Klein and the schism with Anna Freud; Erich Lindemann; George Engel; John Bowlby. The origins and development of Attachment TheoryColin Murray Parkes; Research by Colin Murray Parkes; Summary and conclusions; Notes for trainers; Chapter 3 Attachment; The strange situation experiment; Harry Harlow's monkeys; The ethological perspective and the 'ghost of teleology'; Teleology versus evolution; Bowlby's phases in the development of attachment in children; Attachment theory and the stages of grief; Notes for trainers; Chapter 4 Basic Counselling Skills: Theory into Practi; A model of counselling for loss and grief; The life of Carl Rogers; The core conditions. Some key references to Carl RogersTransference; Putting counselling theory into practice: active listening and how it compares with social listening; A checklist; Difficulties with listening; Active listening techniques; Working in the here-and-now: immediacy; Practising the theory: working in triads; Giving feedback to your peers; Receiving feedback; Notes for trainers; Chapter 5 Working with People Experiencing a Loss; Models of grief; Notes for Trainers; Specialist interventions; Conclusions; Notes for trainers; Chapter 6 Families and Grief; What do we mean by 'a system'? What do we mean by 'a family'?Theories of family systems; Bowen's family system approach; Family and homeostatic equilibrium; Families and attachment style; The family and differential grief; Rolland's Family Systems-Illness Model; Types of illness; The effect of chronic disease on grief; The developmental natural history of the illness; Family belief system and culture; Rituals; Working one-to-one with the family in mind; Genograms; The buttons exercise; Implications for practice within an organization; The family sculpting exercise; Chapter 7 Working with Difference.

Abstract:

This accessible handbook provides a comprehensive guide to working with people experiencing grief, bereavement and loss. It covers theories and models of grief, essential skills and how to support people in practice. It is essential reading for counsellors, bereavement support volunteers, palliative care nurses, students and trainers.Read more...

Reviews

Editorial reviews

Publisher Synopsis

Comprehensive, well-researched and easy to read. -- Dr Colin Murray Parkes, psychiatrist and author In this highly accessible, well-written book, John Wilson shares not only the breadth of his academic scholarship but also his extensive experience and personal wisdom as a bereavement counselor. One becomes aware of the author's passionate concern to inform and advise us; he is at heart a teacher. But what also makes his volume so valuable is his way of challenging our set beliefs, even our knowledge base: "The reader must decide", we are told at one point. This way, we are drawn to reflect and to reread classic books and articles with fresh eyes. We stand to learn a great deal, even beyond the knowledge provided in these pages. It is a most valuable addition to the literature for researchers and bereavement supporters alike. -- Margaret Stroebe, Ph.D., Professor, University of Utrecht and University of Groningen, The Netherlands. Co-editor of Handbook of Bereavement Research and Practice and Complicated Grief: Scientific Foundations for Health Care Professionals If you are looking for help in training volunteers for a bereavement service, you will be greatly supported by the content of this book which could help you formulate your sessions and provide guidance along the way. If you are a counsellor, or professional care practitioner, wishing to enhance your understanding of loss and grief as you work with bereaved people you will find much to help you in these pages. There is wisdom and a wealth of good practice here, and I have learnt much along the way from someone who is a good, safe pair of hands. -- From the Foreword by Dodie Graves, counsellor and author of Talking with Bereaved People and Setting Up and Facilitating Bereavement Support GroupsRead more...