Techniques of Grief Therapy

Robert A. Neimeyer, PhD, is a professor of psychology at the University of Memphis, where he also maintains an active clinical practice. Neimeyer has published 27 books, including Techniques of Grief Therapy: Creative Practices for Counseling the Bereaved and Grief and the Expressive Arts: Practices for Creating Meaning, the latter with Barbara Thompson, and serves as editor of the journal Death Studies. The author of over 400 articles and book chapters and a frequent workshop presenter, he is currently working to advance a more adequate theory of grieving as a meaning-making process. Neimeyer served as president of the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) and chair of the International Work Group for Death, Dying, & Bereavement. In recognition of his scholarly contributions, he has been granted the Eminent Faculty Award by the University of Memphis, made a fellow of the clinical psychology division of the American Psychological Association, and given lifetime achievement awards by both the Association for Death Education and Counseling and the International Network on Personal Meaning.

"Techniques of Grief Therapy: Assessment and Intervention merits a place in every grief counselor’s library. These 66 chapters are a repository of great wisdom and the most current approaches, and they offer much, including underlying theory, assessment instruments, and a wide range of carefully described intervention strategies that encompass goals such as assisting clients in coping with emotion, reaffirming continuing bonds, reconstructing meaning, and utilizing ritual in individual and group settings. This volume will become a classic in the field and should be required reading for every counselor or therapist helping individuals cope with loss."—Kenneth J. Doka, PhD, professor in the graduate school at the College of New Rochelle and senior consultant with the Hospice Foundation of America"Robert Neimeyer is the undisputed leader in the psychological study of bereavement. After a chapter that outlines a new comprehensive description of grief, he presents an impressive collection of authors who offer concrete ideas and methods for assessing and helping the bereaved. The 66 short chapters with succinct explanations and illustrative examples invite readers to learn about a wide range of possible techniques. Everyone, from seasoned mental health professionals to lay bereavement group facilitators, will find new and useful tools in this book."—Dennis Klass, PhD, coauthor of Dead but Not Lost: Grief Narratives in Religious Traditions and author of The Spiritual Lives of Bereaved Parents"Enlisting a wide range of contributors to bereavement research and practice, this book weaves theory and intervention into a practical blend for all professionals wanting to hone their skills in effective therapeutic work with grieving populations. More than 75 different authors offer successful studies, techniques, and strategies to enhance the work of clinicians, researchers and educators."—Donna L. Schuurman, EdD, FT, CEO of the Dougy Center for Grieving Children & Families"Case illustrations and clinical applications through each of the chapters make this book's array of tools and techniques wonderfully useful and inviting of further research. Neimeyer and his co-authors have provided a substatial resource that will enrich new practitioners as well as thanatological veterans."--Paul Metzler, DMin, ADEC Forum"This new volume, subtitled Assessment and Intervention, offers the reader a rich array of approaches to the assessment of varied bereavement responses and the evaluation of interventions designed to help people who are bereaved. It includes an entirely new selection of therapeutic techniques to complement the earlier book. In the spirit of full disclosure, I contributed to the previous volume and believe wholeheartedly in the principle that guided its development, namely that grief therapy is as much an art as a science. Like that book, this one honors the art of psychotherapy, highlighting the work of professionals of diverse orientations and expertise."--Phyllis Kominsky, PhD, Clinical Social Work/Therapist

• Part I: Framing the Work. 1. Toward a Developmental Theory of Grief Robert A. Neimeyer and Joanne Cacciatore 2. Grief is a Form of Love M. Katherine Shear 3. The Dual Process Model in Grief Therapy Emmanuelle Zech 4. Traumatic Bereavement Camille B. Wortman and Laurie Anne Pearlman 5. Finding the Evidence: Use of the CareSearch Site in Bereavement Care Jennifer Tieman and Sarah Hayman Part II: Assessing Bereavement 6. Hogan Grief Reaction Checklist (HGRC) Nancy S. Hogan and Lee A. Schmidt 7. Integration of Stressful Life Experiences Scale (ISLES) Jason M. Holland 8. Meaning of Loss Codebook (MLC) Evgenia Milman, Robert A. Neimeyer, and James Gillies 9. Grief and Meaning Reconstruction Inventory (GMRI) Robert A. Neimeyer, James Gillies and Evgenia Milman 10. Inventory of Daily Widowed Life (IDWL) Michael Caserta, Dale Lund and Rebecca Utz 11. Perceived Life Significance Scale (PLSS) Rachel Hibberd 12. Inventory of Complicated Spiritual Grief (ICSG) Laurie A. Burke and Robert A. Neimeyer 13. Moral Injury Questionnaire—Military Version (MIQ-M) Joseph M. Currier 14. The Two-Track Bereavement Questionnaire for Complicated Grief (TTBQ-CG-31) Simon Shimshon Rubin and Ofri Bar-Nadav 15. Inventory of Social Support (ISS) Nancy S. Hogan and Lee A. Schmidt Part III: Coping with Grief 16. The Grief River Thom Dennis 17. Self-Assessment of Tasks of Mourning J. Shep Jeffreys 18. Mapping the Influence of Loss Daisuke Kawashima 19. Strategies for Coping with Grief Donald Meichenbaum and Julie Myers 20. Contextual Behavior Activation Anthony Papa Part IV: Attending to the Body 21. Welcoming What Is Christine H. Farber 22. The Relaxation Response Heather Stang 23. Meridian Tapping Cecilia Lai Wan Chan, and Candy Hio Cheng Fong 24. Yoga for Grief Heather Stang Part V: Working with Emotion 25. Disentangling Multiple Loss Robert A. Neimeyer 26. The Healing Power of Guilt Celeste Miller and Paula Loring 27. Compassion and Lovingkindness Meditation Heather Stang 28. Ambivalence in Grief Celeste Miller and Paula Loring 29. Loss Boxes Lara Krawchuck 30. The Grief Drawer Darcy Harris Part VI: Reconstructing the Self 31. Building Self-Capacities Laurie Anne Pearlman 32. Who Am I? Wendy G. Lichtenthal and William Breitbart 33. Healing Through Internal Compassion Derek P. Scott 34. Letters to Self Cynthia Rollo-Carlson Part VII: Re-storying Narratives of Loss 35. Dramaturgical Listening Gail Noppe-Brandon 36. Internet-based Writing Birgit Wagner and Andreas Maercker 37. Spiritual Journaling Michelle J. Pearce and Melissa A. Smigelsky 38. Thawing Frozen Grief Cynthia Rollo-Carlson 39. Time Revisited Patricia Ruiz and Kerry Menn 40. Etched in Glass Christine H. Farber and Stephanie Field Part VIII: Reorganizing the Continuing Bond 41. Re-integrating Attachment after Loss Adam Anderson 42. Relationship Review Joshua Magariel 43. AfterTalk Lisa Bogatin and Larry Lynn 44. Singing an Imaginal Dialogue Yasmine A. Iliya 45. Spontaneous Memorialization Janna A. Henning 46. Online Memorials Erin J. Stoll Part IX: Re-envisioning the Loss 47. Dignity Portraiture Nancy Gershman and Kat Safavi 48. Drawing Images of Violent Death Fanny Correa 49. The Dual Rose Amy Y. M. Chow and Kurtee S. M. Chu 50. Photographing Relationships for Remembering Judy Weiser 51. Healing Flowers Lara Krawchuk and Terry Sturmer Part X: Mobilizing Systems 52. Expanding the System An Hooghe and Lieven Migerode 53. The Bereaved Sibling Interview Alba Payás 54. The Grief Spot Laura L. Hinds 55. Family Coat of Arms Janet L. Bradley 56. Grief Etiquette Coaching Doris Chambers Vaughans Part XI: Facilitating Group Work 57. Facilitating Safety in Group Work Simon Spence and Una Smale 58. Co-Facilitating Bereavement Support Groups Beverly Feigelman and William Feigelman 59. Containing the Story of Violent Death Robert A. Neimeyer and Diana C. Sands 60. The Collaborative Poem Nicholas F. Mazza 61. The Red Tent Diana C. Sands 62. Grief Ball Alison J. Bomba Part XII: Recruiting Ritual 63. Playing with Ritual Ellen G. Levine 64. Spiritually-Based Healing Rituals Judy H. F. Chew 65. The Wise Elder Damita Sunwolf Larue 66. Bedside Singing Judith Spencer Williams