Restorative Nature of Ongoing Connections with the Deceased

Laurie A. Burke, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in traumatic loss, complicated grief, and spiritual crisis following loss. She developed the Inventory of Complicated Spiritual Grief 2.0. Edward (Ted) Rynearson, MD, is a clinical psychiatrist and researcher in Seattle, Washington, and author of two books, Retelling Violent Death and Violent Death: Resilience and Intervention Beyond the Crisis.

"Connecting to the presence within absence of the deceased can be the saving grace for the bereaved, and yet a comprehensive text on this critical topic has been lacking. Brimming with theoretical and clinical wisdom, this book offers a unique and powerful combination of sociocultural, religious, and intrapsychic perspectives to broaden our understanding of the value of connecting to the presence of the deceased and how it may be therapeutically cultivated to console grievers." — Wendy Lichtenthal, PhD, assistant attending psychologist and director of the Bereavement Clinic at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Evelyn H. Lauder Breast Center"This book is destined to become a landmark contribution to the field of thanatology. Human beings have always found ways to stay connected to their deceased loved ones—what Burke and Rynearson term ‘presence within absence,’ and what others have called maintaining continuing bonds and after-death communications. The Restorative Nature of Ongoing Connections with the Deceased: Exploring Presence within Absence offers us a contemporary view of this enduring human phenomenon. It covers perspectives from all the major world religions, and it provides in-depth discussions of the clinical and research implications of the presence-within-absence phenomenon. I believe that this volume is on the cutting-edge of an important future direction in thanatology. As such, it ought to be read by anyone interested in role of the presence-within-absence experience in the healing process of grief recovery." — John R. Jordan, PhD, clinical psychologist in private practice in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and coauthor of Attachment-Informed Grief Therapy: The Clinician's Guide to Foundations and Applications

• Section I: Faith Tradition Perspectives 1. Faith Traditions: A Historical and Contemporary Framework 2. Buddhist and Attachment Perspectives on the End of Life 3. A Shamanic Experience of Restoration: Journeying, Ritual, and Ceremony 4. A Christian Way of Making Sense of Life and Death 5. Forming Paths of Continuing Connection from a Jewish Perspective 6. Connecting through the Heart with the Deceased: A Muslim View 7. Eternal Bond with the Deceased: A Hindu Perspective Section II: Clinical Implications 8. Restorative Internalization 9. From Retelling to Reintegration: Narrative Fixation and the Reconstruction of Meaning 10. Grieving in the Wind Telephone Booth 11. Limitations of Traumatic Grief Therapy: The Palliative Embrace of a Homicidal Dying Section III: Research Considerations 12. Sensory and Quasi-Sensory Experiences of the Deceased in Bereavement: An Overview of the Literature 13. Internet Resources for the Bereaved: Facebook’s Influence on the Grieving Process 14. Complicated Spiritual Grief: Wrestling with Faith in the Wake of Loss 15. Psychic Mediums for the Bereaved: Exploring Their Procedures and Contemplating the Use of Their Services Section IV: Existential Experiences 16. Restorative Connection with the Deceased: A Panel Interview with Grievers 17. To Seek or Not Seek Contact with the Deceased Through a Medium: A Panel Interview with Grievers 18. Presence within Absence: Summary Discussion