Grief Work Versus Continuing Bonds: A Call for Paradigm Integration or Replacement?

Russac, R. J.; Steighner, Nina S.; Canto, Angela I.

doi:10.1080/074811802760138996

Cited by 29 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…The fact that both themes were frequently coded in the same respondent, and even response, can be seen in theory as an inconsistency with that professional stock, but could also indicate that both are being used in a complementary way by the clinician practising in situ . This latter interpretation of our finding would resonate with the ideas of Russac, Steighner and Canto (2002) and Stroebe and Schut (2005), who argued for the need to integrate these two hypotheses.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

When experiences of presence go awry: A survey on psychotherapy practice with the ambivalent‐to‐distressing ‘hallucination’ of the deceased

et al. 2020

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Objectives. Experiences of presence, involving the sensory perception or felt presence of the deceased, are common amongst the bereaved (30-60%). Despite them being predominantly comforting and reassuring, a minority (approximately 25%) report ambivalent or distressing experiences. The study's aim was to explore how psychotherapy is practised with this subset.Method. A mixed-method approach, involving both quantitative analysis and thematic analysis, was used to analyse data from an online survey, conducted in English and Spanish, amongst mental health therapists (i.e., psychologists, psychotherapists, and counsellors). Seventy responded to the survey and four of them were further interviewed.Results. The participants primarily framed interventions for ambivalent-to-distressing experiences of presence as grief therapy, with the severity of the presentation as the main factor influencing their clinical decision-making, but several perspectives co-existed regarding how to intervene. These discourses were categorized into two themes: 'A normalising and exploratory psychotherapy' and 'A grief stages psychotherapy'. The main sources of patient's distress, as understood by the sample, were located in the bereaveddeparted relationship, in pre-existing mental health issues, and in a societal taboo or stigma. Conclusion.After comparing and contrasting the participants' working hypotheses with existing knowledge on experiences of presence, and contemporary theories in the research area, guidelines are presented on how to intervene with people disturbed by their experiences of presence.This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

When experiences of presence go awry: A survey on psychotherapy practice with the ambivalent‐to‐distressing ‘hallucination’ of the deceased

et al. 2020

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“…This type of experience has also been described in a case of grief resolved spontaneously under an altered state of consciousness induced with ketamine (Gowda et al, 2016). Attachment theory (Bowlby, 1977) and the construct of continuing bonds (Field, 2006;Russac, Steighner, & Canto, 2002) are an underlying component of bereavement and an important element of coping with the grief (Barrera et al, 2009;Darbyshire et al, 2013;Klass, 2006;Neimeyer, 2006). Furthermore, these experiences permit the resolution of outstanding issues, such as saying goodbye to the loved one or communicating matters that were left unsaid.…”

Section: Qualitative Findingsmentioning

confidence: 84%

Potential Use of Ayahuasca in Grief Therapy

González¹,

Carvalho

Cantillo³

et al. 2017

Omega (Westport)

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The death of a loved one is ultimately a universal experience. However, conventional interventions employed for people suffering with uncomplicated grief have gathered little empirical support. The present study aimed to explore the potential effects of ayahuasca on grief. We compared 30 people who had taken ayahuasca with 30 people who had attended peer-support groups, measuring level of grief and experiential avoidance. We also examined themes in participant responses to an open-ended question regarding their experiences with ayahuasca. The ayahuasca group presented a lower level of grief in the Present Feelings Scale of Texas Revised Inventory of Grief, showing benefits in some psychological and interpersonal dimensions. Qualitative responses described experiences of emotional release, biographical memories, and experiences of contact with the deceased. Additionally, some benefits were identified regarding the ayahuasca experiences. These results provide preliminary data about the potential of ayahuasca as a therapeutic tool in treatments for grief.

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“…However, this notion has been challenged (e.g., Klass, 1993;Murphy, Johnson, Chung, & Beaton, 2003). In one such study, Russac, Steighner, and Canto (2001) questioned a group of bereaved college students about their sense of closeness to the deceased person. They found that although mean ratings of closeness decreased over the time after the loss, there was no difference at end point between the bereaved students and a non-bereaved control group matched for the same relationship.…”

Section: Bereavement and Attachmentmentioning

confidence: 97%

Attachment, loss, and complicated grief

Shear

Shair

2005

Developmental Psychobiology

322

260

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Bereavement is a highly disruptive experience that is usually followed by a painful but time-limited period of acute grief. An unfortunate minority of individuals experience prolonged and impairing complicated grief, an identifiable syndrome that differs from usual grief, major depression, and other DSM IV diagnostic entities. Underlying processes guiding symptoms are not well understood for either usual or complicated grief. We propose a provisional model of bereavement, guided by Myron Hofer's question "What exactly is lost when a loved one dies?" We integrate insights about biobehavioral regulation from Hofer's animal studies of infant separation, research on adult human attachment, and new ideas from bereavement research. In this model, death of an attachment figure produces a state of traumatic loss and symptoms of acute grief. These symptoms usually resolve following revision of the internalized representation of the deceased to incorporate the reality of the death. Failure to accomplish this integration results in the syndrome of complicated grief.

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Grief Work Versus Continuing Bonds: A Call for Paradigm Integration or Replacement?

Cited by 29 publications

References 5 publications

When experiences of presence go awry: A survey on psychotherapy practice with the ambivalent‐to‐distressing ‘hallucination’ of the deceased

When experiences of presence go awry: A survey on psychotherapy practice with the ambivalent‐to‐distressing ‘hallucination’ of the deceased

Potential Use of Ayahuasca in Grief Therapy

Attachment, loss, and complicated grief

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