Death, Value and Meaning Series – serie

"Cop Doc's Guide to Public Safety Complex Trauma Syndrome" is written in response to the need for an advanced, specialized guide for clinicians to operationally define, understand, and responsibly treat complex post-traumatic stress and grief syndromes in the context of the unique varieties of police personality styles. The book continues where Rudofossi's first book, "Working with Traumatized Police Officer Patients", left off. Theory is wed to practice and practice to effective interventions with police officer-patients. The 'how' and 'why' of a clinician's approach is made highly effective by understanding the distinct personality styles of officer-patients. Rudofossi's theoretical approach segues into difficult examples that highlight each officer-patient's eco-ethological field experience of loss in trauma, with a focus on enhancing resilience and motivation to - otherwise left disenfranchised. Thus, this original work expands the ecological-ethological existential analysis of complex PTSD into the context of personality styles, with an emphasis on resilience - without ignoring the pathological aspects of loss that often envelop officer-patient trauma syndromes.

All of us who work in the field of death and dying are, beyond our projects and our practices, working on our awareness of our own mortality. This richly stimulating collection of original articles challenges the reader to develop a disciplined and focused awareness of his/her own mortality, and to grapple with the implications. "Awareness of Mortality" contributes to the basic and passionate intellectual quest for meaning in thanatology. It provokes the reader with a wide range of ideas and thinking styles to deepen the questioning process within his/her own self. "Awareness of Mortality" explores issues in philosophy, ethics, developmental psychology, psychoanalytic psychology, idealistic humanism, sociology, spiritual traditions, and other humanities that thanatology overlaps. "Awareness of Mortality" is an introduction to a broad-based philosophical thanatology.

Losses may provide a turning point where an individual faces personal and social choices. Still, one may derive significance through the experience of loss, while another may encounter bereavement with less consequence. "Complicated Grieving and Bereavement: Understanding and Treating People Experiencing Loss" examines complicated grief in special populations, including the mentally ill, POW-MIA survivors, the differentially-abled, suicide survivors, bereaved children, those experiencing death at birth, death in schools, and palliative-care death.

Rarely heard about in our society are caregivers' thoughts and feelings about life, death, and dying and how they act on those feelings. "For the Living: Coping, Caring and Communicating with the Terminally Ill" provides an in-depth, qualitative look at the experiences of oncology healthcare professionals as they work with terminally ill patients. Through a series of recorded and edited interviews, the author explores the social and cultural dynamics that affect physicians, nurses, and social workers routinely encountering mortality and loss. What death and the prospect of dying mean to these individuals should not be taken lightly.

This book not only examines friendgrief from a theoretical and clinical framework, but also Smith offers fascinating vignettes from the lives of well-known friendgrievers such as Elton John, Diane Sawyer, Ralph Abernathy, C. S. Lewis, Harry Truman, Tommy Lasorda, Jimmy Carter, Fritz Mondale, Bill Clinton, Calvin Trillin, and Alan King. The author includes moving narratives of numerous individuals who have never gained notoriety but have become seasoned friendgrievers.

"Grandparents Cry Twice: Help for Bereaved Grandparents" is a book about grandparents' dual sorrow when a grandchild dies. They cry for their lost grandchild and they also cry for the terrible grief they see their own child having to bear. The author, Mary Lou Reed, writes of her experiences when her beloved grandson, Alex, died. Through her personal story she touches the universal in all grandparents' grief.

Grieving Reproductive Loss: The Healing Process acknowledges the devastating impact these losses can have. Written in ""plain language"", the book attempts to bring about a greater understanding of the grief associated with reproductive loss and, through the Healing Process Model[copyright], offers a holistic approach for constructive healthy grieving and healing of body, mind, and spirit.

"Heavenly Hurts Surviving AIDS-Related Deaths and Losses" imparts vital information for anyone touched by deaths and losses of HIV/AIDS. In the AIDS pandemic, efforts are focused on persons living with AIDS (PLWA). Neglected are professional and non-professional caregivers, families, and friends. They are surviving deaths of loved ones from AIDS-related illness, or are dealing with multiple losses of HIV/AIDS. "Heavenly Hurts" provides guidance, support and coping skills, along with discussions of death language; AIDS grief; death in the workplace; and cultural and spiritual issues around death.

"Homicide Survivors: Misunderstood Grievers" is about families that have faced murder and how they have dealt with the trauma. It offers an interpretation of personal accounts of homicide survivors in order to understand the particular nature of homicide bereavement. The author herself a homicide survivor, Judie Bucholz offers a unique perspective and experiential base for examining the phenomenon of homicide bereavement. Her intent is to help the reader understand the homicide griever's situation both as one who grieves and one who grieves within a social context, as one who confronts horrific death at the personal level as well as at the social level.

The workplace is not immune to the problems, pressures, and challenges presented by experiences of loss and trauma and the grief reactions they produce. This clearly written, well-crafted book offers important insights and understanding to help us appreciate the difficulties involved and prepare ourselves for dealing with such demanding situations when they arise. People's experiences of loss and trauma are, of course, not left at the factory gate or the office door. Nor are loss and traumatic events absent from the workplace itself. Loss, grief, and trauma are very much a part of life - and that includes working life. Executives, managers, human resource professionals, and employee assistance staff need to have at least a basic understanding of how loss, grief, and trauma affect people in the workplace. This book provides that foundation of understanding and offers guidance on how to find out more about these vitally important workplace issues.The text provides a valuable blend of theory and practice that will be of interest to those involved in management, human resources, and organizational studies as well as those interested in the social scientific study of loss, grief, and trauma - and, of course, to those involved in the helping professions. It is essential reading for anyone concerned with making the workplace a more humane and effective environment, or anyone wishing to develop an understanding of the complexities of loss, grief, and trauma in our lives.

The editors of "Making Sense of Death: Spiritual, Pastoral, and Personal Aspects of Death, Dying and Bereavement" provide stimulating discussions as they ponder the meaning of life and death.This anthology explores the process of meaning-making in the face of death and the roles of religion and spirituality at times of loss; the profound and devastating experience of loss in the death of a spouse or a child; a psychological model of spirituality; the dimensions of spirituality; humor in client-caregiver relationships; the worldview of modernity in contrast to postmodern assumptions; the Buddhist perspective of death, dying, and pastoral care; meaning-making in the virtual reality of cyberspace; individualism and death; and the historical context of Native Americans, the concept of disenfranchised grief, and its detailed application to the Native American experience.It also explores: a qualitative survey on the impact of the shooting deaths of students in Colorado; a team approach with physicians, nursing, social services, and pastoral care; a study of health care professionals, comparing clergy with other health professionals; marginality in spiritual and pastoral care for the dying; a qualitative research study of registered nurses in the northeast United States; and loss and growth in the seasons of life.

Presents a view of hospice care through the eyes of a long-term hospice nurse. This title includes stories which are accompanied by discussion of end-of-life issues that arise among the families hospice nurse has served. It is useful for health care and social worker and layperson alike.

"Meeting the Needs of Our Clients Creatively: The Impact of Art and Culture on Caregiving" is an important new work which integrates traditional understandings of care of the dying and bereaved with the use of arts and other forms of cultural creativity in therapy and funeralization. Twenty-one authors give us cutting-edge insights into the practical aspects of caring for the dying and bereaved as well as new understandings of creativity.

The 40 short reflections in this book address the ways in which we face the prospect of death and loss. The first 20 reflections are designed to be read by (or to) anyone living with a life-threatening illness; the other 20 are reflections on living with grief, especially bereavement. Each reflection is based on a single story drawn from one of three sources: Dr. Kellehear's professional experience with individuals living with dying or loss; his own experiences and stories from childhood; and the retelling of some of the great myths and legends about life, love, and death, selected from around the world-from Ireland to Japan, from Melanesia to China. The book is written to be accessible to a wide general audience.It can be read from beginning to end like a conventional book; each self-contained piece is also suitable for reading on a bus, train, or plane journey, or before bed at night. Each piece can be selected as a stand-alone meditation for use as a discussion topic in pastoral care, counseling, or sermons. These reflections are stories about how we can make the most of life in the shadow of death and loss. They are designed to instill hope and meaning in the difficult times that can accompany human mortality.

This book comes out of an in-depth, qualitative study of the experiences of twenty-three families in which one parent was dying of cancer. The study attempted to better understand the impact of terminal illness on the entire family system and sought to develop a theoretical framework that would guide the assessment of and services to such families. As a result of interviews with patients, spouses and their adult children over three phases of the study, the process of ""fading away"" was identified and conceptualized in terms of various phases which contributed to this process. The book is not a research report but rather presents more generally the ideas that developed from the study, with two purposes: to increase the reader's understanding of particular experiences that families encounter when dealing with terminal illness, specifically cancer. The intended readership also includes families themselves: to propose guidelines for care to be considered by practitioners working with such families.

The analogy of the torn fabric was first used by the author in response to a bereaved mother's cry: "I know what grief feels like; I don't know what it looks like." In "Mending the Torn Fabric: For Those Who Grieve and Those Who Want to Help Them", the author expands the metaphor to include earlier and future or potential losses as well as losses associated with the death that may be unrecognized or minimized. This book includes chapters that examine complications that may be present or may arise, suggestions for mending even the most torn fabric, and a chapter dedicated to friends who want to help. Stories bereaved persons have shared with the author through the years are interspersed throughout the book to provide examples of loss and mending.

Few areas in life have experienced the rapid pace of change that has been the experience of health care. It's an area where nothing feels "safe" and everything is threatened with reexamination and redefinition. Accompanying this situation is a new appreciation for the human spirit and the gift of things spiritual, including the soul of the work place. Addressing this situation is a vital new book "Health Care and  Spirituality: Listening, Assessing, Caring" an anthology of the human predicament, the health care professional's story and the health care work place. "Health Care and  Spirituality" explores this area that is continually being introduced to new treatments, new challenges, new people, new regulations, new expectations, and new time limits.

This unique workbook is a comprehensive compilation of therapeutic activities developed to address the needs and issues of children and adolescents following the death of a brother or sister. The workbook is organized into distinct topic-specific sections relating to sibling hospitalisation, illness, injury, and death. Games, creative writing, and drawing exercises offer opportunities to share feelings and relay experiences in a non-threatening format.. Letters from a Friend may be used by children or teens independently to create a personal journal of their bereavement and coping processes as well as a chronicle of their lives as surviving siblings.

This book examines violence. It looks at the nature and types of violence, the causes of violence, and the emotional wake left by violent episodes. In the twentieth century, the world experienced two world wars and countless other wars. Many millions died violent deaths from murder, death squads, purges, riots, revolutions, ethnic cleansing, rape, robbery, domestic violence, suicide, gang violence, terrorist acts, genocide, and in many other ways. As we entered the twenty-first century, we experienced 9/11, the Red Lake School deaths, suicide bombers, and more mass death brought about by the actions of governments, revolutionaries, terrorists, and still more wars. The need to better understand violence, both lethal and non-lethal, to become aware of the many forms of violence, and to learn how to survive in the aftermath of violent death are the focus of "Perspectives on Violence and Violent Death."

In "Pet Death", Dr. Straub addresses issues and feelings commonly encountered after the death of a pet. Practical guidelines are provided for coping with feelings of loss and sorrow. Many questions arise from the difficult topic of euthanasia, and in this book, the medical aspect of this procedure is explained in plain language. "Are your other pets grieving?" and "Should I get another pet right away?" are other questions addressed. Dr. Straub and others openly share their personal accounts of pet loss.

Grief is frequently thought of as an ordeal we must simply survive. This book offers a fresh approach to the negotiation of death and grief. It is founded in principles of constructive conversation that focus on "remembering" lives, in contrast to processes of forgetting or dismembering those who have died. Re-membering is about a comforting, life enhancing, and sustaining approach to death that does not dwell on the pain of loss and is much more than wistful reminiscing. It is about the deliberate construction of stories that continue to include the dead in the membership of our lives.

"Prospects for Immortality: A Sensible Search for Life After Death" theorizes how matters concerning the birth of the universe, its ultimate fate, and the creation, evolution, and final destiny of life on earth co-exist with regenerated consciousness. Readers of this volume will be prompted to think about the basic concepts of life, death, and consciousness in a unique way. Written in a style that entertains and informs, author J. Robert Adams speculates on how the transfer of memory and consciousness into the hereafter occurs in conjunction with the physical, chemical, and historical facts already established by science.

The methodology of "Reflections on Death, Dying and Bereavement" is mainly philosophical. It is intended to complement scriptural and theological studies. The volume has five main sections that are further divided by chapter. The first section contains foundational considerations. Since the belief in a continuation of life after death or reunion with deceased loved ones offers consolation to many people, the book examines the possibility of human immortality. Various rational arguments are also presented.

Sorrow and Solace focuses on the importance of cemeteries in the lives of everyday mourners, and ways in which our bereaved give meaning to and draw value from their commemorative activities. The death of someone dear to us is among the most momentous life event that we experience. In many societies, visiting the grave or memorial is a common behavioural response to bereavement. Memorial sites provide vital connections to our deceased loved ones with whom we wish to maintain ongoing social bonds, and cemeteries are crucial places of deep healing and growth. Millions of visits are made to cemeteries every day, but the extent of this activity and its value to those who mourn - the topics of this volume - have long remained largely unrecognised. Large urban memorial parks are hives of activity for recently bereaved persons, and are among the most visited places in Western communities. Some cemeteries, hosting millions of annual visits, are more popular than many major tourist attractions. Cemetery visitation is a high-participatory, value-laden, expressive activity, and a most significant observable behaviour of the recently bereaved. This work will be invaluable to those seeking a scholarly understanding of bereavement, mourning, and commemoration. Written principally for professionals with a tertiary educational interest in related fields, such as grief educators, nurses, palliative carers, and social workers, it is also an important resource for the further education of other carers and service providers, including psychologists, physicians, counsellors, clergy, funeral directors, cemetery administrators, and monumental masons. The book is also a significant contribution to the field of social anthropology.

Many people are curious about what goes on behind the scenes at a funeral home. Add a live-in family to this scenario, and you'll Step Into Our Lives at the Funeral Home. Shh! Be quiet! There's someone at the door! Don't ever talk about anything you have seen or heard concerning someone's death outside the walls of our home. Mourning families need to know they can trust our integrity and our ability to keep confidentiality. For the author's family, these admonitions were ingrained in the children's minds at an early age. This book gives an insightful view of every facet of the funeral, from the time a death call is received until the funeral is completed. Stories of days in the ambulance business in conjunction with the funeral home are also related. The funeral director's role, the spouse's role, the children's role, and how the children thrived in an atmosphere of death are shared with the reader. How funeral directors cope with stress and how wives cope with their husbands during these times are revealed. Years later, following a tragic death, three people look back and share their stories of moving from despair to recovery. Interspersed through every chapter are stories and vignettes shared by many funeral directors throughout the Midwest, concerning the lifestyle for the family living in the funeral home and true incidents of specific funerals. Some stories are sad. Others are tragic. A few are humorous. Embracing faith, hope, and love is a primary requisite for healing. Intended audience: General readers of all ages, funeral home directors, hospice patients, mortuary students, and people who have had a loved one die by natural means or tragedy.

This book examines what we know about the phenomenon of suicide by cop and places this behavior in a broader context. For example, some murder victims (perhaps as many as a quarter) provoke the murderer, to some extent, into killing them-so-called victim-precipitated homicide. In some cases, it has been suspected that murderers kill and act thereafter in such a way as to provoke the state into executing them. The authors then examine some of the issues specific to suicide by cop, such as whether there is a racial bias in these acts and what the legal implications are. Finally, they discuss the process of hostage negotiation (since those involved in suicide by cop often take hostages during the confrontation with police), the need to provide counseling for police officers involved in suicide-by-cop incidents, and how we might reduce the incidence of this behavior.

"When a Child Has Been Murdered: Ways You Can Help the Grieving Parents" is a concise, easy- to-read guide that begins with a general discussion of the types of grief that result from death and non-death losses. Then, using statements made by parents whose children were murdered, it discusses the specifics of murdered-child grief including: the complex emotions felt by the grieving parents, how the necessity of interacting with the criminal justice system can alter and enhance these emotions, short- and long-term methods these parents employ to work through the grieving process and to reconstruct their shattered lives, and how anyone who comes in contact with the parents can help them survive their grief.

Wrestling with the Angel addresses the human struggle to cope with death, dying, grief, and bereavement. The book includes essays, a one-act play, a short story, and poetry, including shape poems, rhyming, structured verse, and free verse. In the one-act play, an angel of death comes for a man who has lived an unexamined life and wants to explain why he is not prepared to leave. The short story offers a humorous look at a man who resists aging by continuing to view himself as the young man he once was. The diverse genres allow for different ways of exploring these issues, but all are intended to engage the reader's emotions as well as intellect. The writings incorporate reflections and quotations addressing common human issues related to our mortality and explore reactions to the loss of a loved one--whether expected, such as the death of an aging parent or someone with a terminal illness, or unexpected, such as accidental death. The final chapters examine how aging causes us to assess our lives and why preparing ourselves for death can enhance the quality of our life. This is a book with many more questions than answers, but the reader is invited to share in the process of finding answers. It is a book that requires the reader to be comfortable with ambiguity, because the reality it describes is often ambiguous--a reality that presents us with many choices but few certainties. Intended Audience: Scholars, hospice workers, funeral home directors, hospital chaplains, ministers, and others who work with bereavement issues; classes in death education and classes for mental health professionals in death and grief; general readers who have suffered the loss of a loved one.

This book, written in the genre of "Imaginal Psychology", presents the imaginal dimension of the mourning process. The "angels" it greets are the interior figures who greet the bereaved during the course of their mourning process. In memory, reverie, and dream, images of the dead return to heal and be healed. As the bereaved enter into relationship with these images, the grief in which they are sequestered is particularized and individualized into the precise nuances of significance which make mourning possible.