Working with Continuing Bonds in Grief Therapy

Robert A. Neimeyer, PhD, directs the Portland Institute for Loss and Transition, actively practices as a trainer and consultant, and has published extensively on grieving as a meaning-making process.Edith Maria Steffen, PsychD, is an honorary associate professor in counselling psychology at the University of Plymouth and senior counselling psychologist in the UK’s National Health Service. She also maintains a private practice in Surrey, UK.

"Working with Continuing Bonds in Grief Therapy is a masterful guide to innovations in therapeutic philosophy and practice that uphold the continuation of relational bonds that are stronger than death. It is a must-read for clinicians and students who wish to venture into new terrain supporting the unending vital connections between the living and dead."Lorraine Hedtke, MSW, ACSW, PhD, professor of counseling, California State University, San Bernardino, and coauthor of The Crafting of Grief"Death is the beginning of an ending, characterized by continuous bonds with those who have died. Neimeyer and Steffen’s rich and practical guide will help clinicians navigate those bonds with the bereft, moving them into a future marked by both loss and hope."Harvey Max Chochinov, MD, author of Dignity in Care: The Human Side of Medicine and Dignity Therapy: Final Words for Final Days "Neimeyer and Steffen are spearheading the peaceful revolution of creating continuing bonds after bereavement. In this book they widen the scope of grief work, releasing it into a powerful new existential perspective that brings continuity and connectivity, not just for those who are bereft, but to all mortals who have to face and make sense of endings in their lifetime."Emmy van Deurzen, PhD, FBPsS, CPsychol, UKCP fellow; founder and director, Existential Academy, and co-author of Structural Existential Analysis"This book reflects a fundamental shift towards acknowledging the ongoing relationship with those who have died, offering a wealth of examples of how it can be integrated into work with clients. Even beyond its relevance to grief therapy, the implications of Working with Continuing Bonds stretch into the broader landscape of contemporary counselling and psychotherapy, carrying the field in the direction of acknowledging, respecting, and building on traditional and indigenous forms of mutual care."John McLeod, PhD, emeritus professor of counselling, Abertay University, Scotland"Drs. Neimeyer and Steffen, in addition to being celebrated experts in the phenomenology, empirical research and intervention for complex forms of grief, are incisive and engaging writers. Their book is a clarification of the restorative potential of the continuing bond with the deceased as a ‘presence within absence’ and ally in grief therapy. A comprehensive series of chapters describe specific novel approaches and techniques for helping clients consolidate more secure bonds with the dead, highlighted by vivid case studies, in a volume that will be a valuable reference for the licensed clinician, counselor or general reader."Ted Rynearson, MD, co-editor of The Restorative Nature of Ongoing Connections to the Deceased and emeritus clinical professor of psychiatry, University of Washington"This book is a must have for anyone professionally supporting grieving people or conducting research in grief, bereavement and mourning. Neimeyer and Steffen shed light on the historical and cultural contexts of continuing bonds, creating a framework for chapters focusing on how we can work with the bereaved, in their ongoing relationship with the person close to them who has died. Ways of relationally engaging are brought to life through case examples, poignantly and compassionately demonstrating the power of working restoratively with continuing bonds."Andy Langford, clinical director, Cruse Bereavement Support, UK"Working therapeutically with the emotional bonds that link the bereaved to the deceased is a key element in facilitating successful intervention following interpersonal loss. Neimeyer and Steffen provide a most readable, systematic, nuanced and clinically relevant exposition of this topic. Theory and case material come alive in the detailed clinical examples that unfold to touch and instruct both heart and mind. This is a book to read and reread."Simon Shimshon Rubin, PhD, director of the Laboratory for the Study of Loss, Bereavement and Human Resilience, University of Haifa, and co-author of Working with the Bereaved

• 1. The “Continuing Bonds Revolution” 2. When Continuing Bonds Are Hampered 3. Constructing the Therapeutic Alliance: A Meaning-Focused Perspective 4. Re-establishing a Narrative Presence through Sharing and Exploring Stories 5. Correspondence with the Deceased 6. Chair Work and Imaginal Dialogues 7. Experiencing Contact Using Visualisation and Imagery 8. Spontaneous, Facilitated, Assisted, and Requested After-Death Communication 9. On Griefbots and Avatars: Integrating AI into Grief Therapy 10. Embodied Dialogue 11. Continuing Bonds at the End of Life 12. The Healing Canvas: Expressive Arts Modalities for Cultivating a Continuing Bond 13. Contexts of Connection: A Creative Toolkit