Grief As A Family Process : A Developmental Approach To Clinical Practice

This volume extends and integrates approaches such as developmental psychology, psychoanalytic and family systems theory, and cultural anthropology into a systemic developmental model that emphasizes ways grief can enhance the emotional growth of the family system. The model presented here views grief as a natural process through which a therapist can help families live, and even grow. Using examples from a wide variety of cultural traditions, this book argues for an attachment to, instead of detachment from, the deceased family member to sustain and enhance family development. This book is indispensable to any helping professional who works with grieving families, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, family therapists, physicians, nurses, hospice and patient home workers, clergypeople, and many others. It also serves as a text in courses on bereavement, family development, family and child therapy, and developmental psychopathology.