Bereavement & Responding to Grief - PowerPoint Presentation

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Bereavement & Responding to Grief

Diploma in Funeral

Arranging & Administration

Aims and Objectives

Understand how circumstances of death might affect grief

Consider theories on the cycle of grief

Discuss theories of loss (why do we grieve at all?)

Understand how faith and culture affects grief

Consider the role of the funeral service

“

Grief ...

... is the price we pay for love.”

H.M. Queen Elizabeth II, 20.9 .2001

Determinants of Grief

Who the deceased was

The nature of the relationship of the bereaved and deceased

Previous history of bereavement

The

bereaved’s

social networkThe bereaved’s faith positionManner of death

Other determinants of grief

Emotional / intellectual capacity

Geographical proximity

Dependence on deceased

Motivation

What does this tell us?

Types of grief

anticipatory grief

Where it is known that a death will occur

grief

Where death has occurredunresolved grief Further bereavement occurs before one has been processedcomplicated/traumatic/abnormal grief Which can take various forms

Who said this?

“In

this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes

.“

Benjamin Franklin

John Bowlby’s Attachment Theory

When separation occurs three things follow:

Protest

“This is not happening.”

Despair

“Okay, this is happening.”Detachment

“So it happened.”

The Assumptive World

Things are the way we expect them to be

This enables us to plan for things

Death, even when expected, can overturn these assumptions

A new world of assumptions will in time be created

Dr Colin Murray-

Parkes

Structures of Meaning

No one likes change

Order provides control

We understand the world as it is and our place in it

We apply our own understanding to things as they relate to us

Death undermines that structure

Peter Marris

Bereavement Models: Kübler-Ross 5 Stages

Extended Kubler-Ross

Bereavement models: Murray-Parkes

Bereavement models: Worden’s 4 Tasks

The erratic grief cycle

Bereavement models:

Stroebe

&

Schut’s

Dual Process

Function of the funeral

Celebrate the life of the deceased

Chance to say goodbye

Demonstrate care and respect for the deceased

Observe social convention

Religious requirement

TraditionDefault responseOffers opportunity for social gatheringRite of passage

Separation: confirming the person is goneTransition: moving from one state to anotherIncorporation and integration: re-ordering life to its new way

Function of the funeral

Psychological

It allows emotion to be expressed, assisting mourning

Sociological

Providing a forum for shared experience

Religious and Spiritual

Meeting the requirements of faith for deceased and bereavedPhilosophicalThe bereaved and the wider community can reflect on life and death

Dr Alan Wolfelt: Purpose of the funeral

Reality

Funerals

help us begin to truly acknowledge the reality that someone in our life has died

.

Recall

Funerals encourage us to remember the person who died and share our unique memories with others, creating hope for the future.SupportFunerals

bring together people who care about each other in an atmosphere of love and support.ExpressionFunerals allow us to express our inner thoughts and feelings about the life and the death.Meaning

Funerals

mark the significance of the life that was lived. They also help us find meaning and purpose in our continued living, even in the face of loss

.

Transcendence

Ultimately

, funerals help us embrace the wonder of life and death.

CPJ Field & Co. Ltd.