Grief Therapy- An Attachment-Informed Approach
Whether they are striving to restore a sense of secure attachment to a loved one lost to death or to resolve lingering relational issues with the deceased, mourners frequently need to reengage those they have lost rather than relinquish the bond and “move on.” In this module, we will explore and practice several creative narrative, emotion-focused and conversational methods for re-introducing the deceased into the social and psychological world of the bereaved, fostering a sustaining sense of connection and alliance with the loved one in embracing a changed future, and working through issues of guilt, anger and abandonment triggered by the death and the shared life that preceded it. Learners will leave with tools for assessing factors that complicate grieving, helping clients appreciate the role of the loved one in their construction of their own identities, and re-access and revise frozen dialogues with the deceased that interfere with post-loss adaptation.
All orders include the entire presentation with handouts and a CE test.
Streaming videos and audio downloads will be available immediately after checkout
Mailed CD and DVD formats include the printed handouts and CE test in an attractive portfolio
Objectives
Participants will be able to:
· Identify dimensions of insecure attachment that complicate adaptation to the death.
· Summarize the Two-Track Model of bereavement and its use in identifying problems meriting clinical attention.
· Utilize a validated measure of the quality of the relationship with the deceased to pinpoint a focus for intervention.
· Apply Secure Base Mapping to trace sustaining bonds over time to identify internal and external resources to promote adaptation to life transitions.
· Discuss the concept of continuing bonds with the deceased and identify how it can both support and interfere with adaptive grieving.
· Practice two techniques for consolidating a constructive bond with the deceased as the client transitions toward a changed future.
· Summarize the use of the Unfinished Business in Bereavement Scale (UBBS) for assessing residual conflicts and disappointments in the relationship with the deceased that invite therapeutic work.
· Use the Life Imprint technique to recognize the living legacy of the deceased for the survivor at both concrete and abstract levels.
Topics
· Attachment and Impermanence: The Role of Internal Working Models
· Caring and Daring: Drawing the Secure Base Map
· Object Stories: Reaffirming the Continuing Bond
· Working with the Relationship: The Two-Track Model of Bereavement
· Presence within Absence: Reconstructing the Continuing Bond
· Restorative Realignment of the Relationship: Addressing Unfinished Business
· Writing through Bereavement: A Case Study of Complicated Grief
· Stepping into Self: Re-writing the Terms of Attachment