Stages theories – what do they propose?
Psychodynamic Theories – what do they propose?
Psychodynamic theories have dominated thinking about grief since Freud’s mourning and melancholia (1917).
What are some of the key assertions of psychodynamic theories and grief?
You MUST read Wortman & Silva (1989) – they outline a multitude of psychodynamic assertions and will help you to structure this section using their subsections.
Family Systems Theory & Bowen – Grieving happens in the context of the family.
Make sure you mention some of Bowen’s theory about death and dying and the (sometimes over) interconnectedness of family member’s emotions – we grieve differently, should not be forcing each other to grieve the same.
What are some issues with the psychodynamic assertions?
What does the evidence say about the psychodynamic assertions? (Wortman & Silver, 1989)
How might these assertions affect clinical practice?
How might these assertions affect the client’s experience?
What data has been collected to explore these theoretical psychodynamic assumptions?
What was the methodological design of this data collection?
What do the results of this data say about the theoretical data that dominates psychodynamic discourse on loss and grief? Do the data contradict, or bring into question the psychodynamic theories?
What kinds of individual differences have been elucidated about how we grieve from this data?
What individual differences were identified in this research?
Where does this leave us then, on evaluating: stages models? Psychodynamic theory? The family’s effect? And individual differences?
Culture shapes how we grieve. What are the results from research on culture and the individual? How does this shape the grieving experience?
How do all of these aspects converge?The treatments…MBCT has been asserted to support those experiencing grief.
How strong/weak is the methodology? How substantial is the evidence base here?
The ATTEND model has been used to support practitioners to support clients – what is the theoretical basis (idea)?
Evaluate how useful MBCT /Mindfulness is in this arena.
Discuss the complexity. Conclude
