Mourning and Meaning: The Model of Grief Therapy

As contemporary models of bereavement have become more empirically informed, so too have the practices available to therapists who work with prolonged and debilitating forms of grief. This workshop offers an introduction to several of these techniques, nesting them both within the therapy relationship and in the context of current theories and research that provide flexible frameworks for intervention. At the heart of this approach is helping clients reconstruct a world of meaning that has been challenged by loss.

In this workshop, we will first discuss a model of adaptive grieving that entails processing the event story of the loss, accessing the back story of the relationship with the deceased, and revising the personal story of the mourner’s own self-narrative. Fundamental to this work is the power of presence in the construction of the therapeutic holding environment, within which we can quickly assess our clients’ needs and readiness for change. We will then discuss how to create a safe relational container for a healing “re-telling” of the loss experience, fostering the emotion regulation necessary to draw close to the grief, but also to take perspective on it and ultimately integrate the loss into the larger narrative of their lives.

We then extend this frame by considering grieving as a process of reconstructing rather than relinquishing our bonds with those who have died, and the circumstances that can interfere with this natural process, as well as the prospects of growing through grief. Creative narrative, arts-assisted and performative methods will be illustrated for re-introducing the deceased into the social and psychological world of the bereaved, fostering a sustaining sense of connection and alliance with the loved one in embracing a changed future, while working through issues of guilt, anger and abandonment triggered by the death and the shared life that preceded it.