Grief Flashcards
psychology
the scientific study of human behavior
psyche
mind
-logy
study of
funeral service psychology
the study of human behavior as related to funeral service
mourning
“the process” - an adjustment process which involves grief and/or sorrow over a period of time and helps in the reorganization of the life of an individual following a loss or death of someone loved.
grief
“the emotion” - an emotion or set of emotions due to a loss
bereavement
“the event” - the experience of the emotion of grief….a state of deprivation of something valuable.
thanatology
the study of death
thanos
death
phobia
fear
thanatophopbia
an irrational, exaggerated fear of death
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
physician worked with hospice patients; identified “five stages” a terminally ill person and the family experiences; she wrote “On Death and Dying”
Five Stages of Death & Dying
- denial & isolation
- anger
- bargaining
- depression
- acceptance
Erich Lindemann
- chief of psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital in 1944
- worked with families who lost loved ones in the Coconut Grove fire
- first professional to describe “anticipatory grief”
- wrote “Symptomatology and Management of Acute Grief”
- introduced the “Grief Syndrome”
Grief Syndrome
- somatic or bodily distress of some type
- preoccupation with the image of the deceased
- guilt relating to the deceased or circumstances of the death
- hostile reactions
- inability to function as before the loss
- may develop traits of the behavior of the deceased
John Bowlby
a British psychiatrist who devoted much of his professional career to understanding attachment - what it is and how it develops; noted for the “Attachment Theory”
Attachment Theory
attachements come from a need for security and safety; situations that endanger the bond of attachment give rise to emotional reactions; the greater the potential for loss, the more intense the reaction
Sigmund Freud
- wrote the paper “Mourning and Melancholia” in 1917 in which he pointed out that depression, which he called “melancholia,” was a pathological form of normal grief
- he came up with the concept of “grief work” which implies that the mourner needs to take action
C.M. Parkes Phases of Mourning
- period of numbness
- phase of yearning
- phase of disorganization and despair
- phase of reorganized behavior
J. William Worden
- a psychiatrist who wrote “Grief Counseling & Grief Therapy
- participated in the “Harvard Bereavement Study” which indicated the mourning is necessary for all who have experienced loss through death.
- identified the “Four Tasks of Mourning”
Worden’s Four Tasks of Mourning
- to accept the reality of the loss
- to work through the pain of grief
- to adjust to an environment in which the deceased is missing
- to emotionally relocate the deceased and move on with life
normal grief
uncomplicated grief
manifestations of normal grief
behaviors, feelings, physical sensations, cognitions
abnormal (complicated, unresolved) grief
grief extending over a long period of time without resolution
acute grief
the intense physical and emotional expression of grief occurring as the awareness increases of a loss of someone or something significant.
adaption
the individual’s ability to adjust to the psychological and emotional changes brought on by a stressful even such as the death of a significant other
affect
feelings and their expression
aftercare (post-funeral counseling)
those appropriate and helpful acts of counseling that comes after the funeral
aggression
the intentional infliction of physical or psychological harm on another
A.I.D.S.
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
alienation
the state of estrangement an individual feels in social settings that are viewed as foreign, unpredictable or unacceptable
alternatives
providing a choice of services and merchandise available as families make a selection and complete funeral arrangements, formulating different actions in adjusting to a crisis
anger
blame directed towards another person
anomic grief
a term to describe the experience of grief, especially in you bereaved parents, where mourning customs are unclear due to an inappropriate death and the absence of prior bereavement experience, typical in a society that has attempted to minimize the impact of death through medical control of disease and social control of those who deal the the dying and the dead.
anticipatory grief
syndrome characterized by the presence of grief in anticipation of death or loss; the actual death comes as a confirmation of knowledge of a life-limiting condition.
anxiety
a state of tension, typically characterized by rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath and other similar ramifications of arousal of the automatic nervous system; an emotion characterized by a vague fear or premonition that something undesirable is going to happen
at need counseling
a death has occurred and the funeral director is advising the family from the time death occurs until the final disposition including selection of the services and merchandise during the arrangement conference
attachment (Bowlby)
the tendency in human beings to make strong affectionate bonds with others coming from the need for security and safety
attending (listening)
giving undivided attention by means of verbal and non-verbal behavior
attitude
a learned tendency to respond to people, objects, or institutions in a positive or negative way
bereavement
the act or event of separation or loss that results in the experience of grief
chronic grief
excessive in duration and never comes to a satisfactory conclusion
cognitive psychology
from the Latin, “to know”. The study of the origins and consequences of thoughts, memories, beliefs, perceptions, explanations, and other mental processes
committal service
the rite of finality in a funeral service preceding cremation, earth burial, entombment or burial at sea
communication
a general term for the exchange of information, feelings, thoughts and acts between two or more people, including both verbal and non-verbal aspects of the interchange
congruence
according to client-centered counseling, the necessary quality of a counselor being in touch with reality and other’s perception of oneself
coping
characteristic ways of responding to stress
counselee
the individual seeking assistance or guidance
counseling (Webster)
advice, especially that given as a result of consultation
counseling (Jackson)
any time someone helps someone else with a problem
counseling (Rogers)
good communication within and between men/women; or, good (free) communication within or between men/women is always therapeutic
counseling (Ohlsen)
a therapeutic experience for reasonably healthy persons. Do not confuse this with psychotherapy which is treatment for emotionally disturbed persons who seek or are referred for assistance with pathological problems. A counselor’s clients are encouraged to seek assistance before they develop serious neurotic, psychotic, or characterological disorders.
counselor
the individual providing assistance and guidance
crisis
a highly emotional temporary state in which an individual’s feeling of anxiety, grief, confusion or pain impair his/her ability to act
crisis counseling
interventions for a highly emotional temporary state in which individuals, overcome by feelings of anxiety, grief, confusion or pain are unable to act in a realistic, normal manner. Intentional responses which help individuals in a crisis situation
death anxiety
a learned emotional response to death-related phenomenon which is characterized by extreme apprehension
defense mechanism
an unconscious, irrational means used by ego to defend against anxiety
delayed grief (Worden)
inhibited suppressed or postponed response to a loss
denial
the defense mechanism by which a person is unable or refuses to see things as they are because such facts are threatening to the self.
directive counseling
counselor takes an active speaking role, asking questions, suggesting courses of action, etc.
discrimination
treating members of various social groups differently in circumstances where their rights or treatment should be identical
displaced aggression
redirecting anger toward a person or object that one who caused the anger originally
displacement
redirection of emotion to other targets
disenfranchised grief
loss of relationship not socially sanctioned; socially negated losses; socially unspeakable losses
Dyad
2 units regarded as a pair. Ex. husband and wife
ego defense mechanism
unconscious, irrational means used by the ego to defend against anxiety
emotion(s)
feelings such as happiness, anger or grief, created by brain patterns accompanied by bodily changes
emotional expression
the outward expression or display of mood or feeling states
empathy (Wolfelt)
the ability to perceive another’s experience and communicate that perception back to the person
euthanasia (right to die)
an act or practice of allowing the death of persons suffering from a life-limiting condition
exaggerated grief (Worden)
persons are usually conscious of the relationship of the reaction to the death, but the reaction to the current experience is excessive and disabling
facilitate
to assist understanding of the circumstances or situations the individual is experiencing and to assist that person in the selection of an alternative adjustment if necessary
fear
strong emotion marked by such reactions as alarm, dread or disquieting
focusing
centering a client’s thinking and feelings on the situation causing a problem and assisting the person in choosing the behavior or adjustment to solve the problem
frustration
the state of being prevented from attaining a purpose; thwarted; the blocking of the satisfaction of a perceived need by some kind of obstacle
funeral rite
an organized, flexible, purposeful, group centered, time-limited response to death which reflects reverence, dignity and respect.
funeral service psychology
the study of human behavior as related to funeral service
genuineness (Wolfelt)
the ability to present oneself sincerely
goals
adjustment, motivational in nature, to be achieved
grief
an emotion or set of emotions due to loss
grief counseling
helping people facilitate uncomplicated grief to a healthy completion of the tasks of grieving within a reasonable time frame
grief syndrome (Lindemann)
a set of symptoms associated with loss
grief therapy (Worden)
specialized techniques which are used to help people with complicated grief
grief work (Lindemann)
a set of symptoms associated with loss
guidance
support or support system provided to the counselee who is seeking an alternative adjustment to problems
guilt
blame directed toward one’s self based on real or unreal conditions
homicide
the killing of one human being by another
hospice
historically an inn for travelers, especially one kept by a religious order; also used to indicate a concept designed to treat patients with a life-limiting condition
illustrating
detailed examples of adjustments, choices or alternatives available to the client or counsel, from which a course or action can be selected
informational counseling
counseling in which a counselor share a body of special information with a counselee
interpersonal attraction
social attraction to another person
living will
a document which governs the withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment from an individual in the event of an incurable or irreversible condition that will cause death within a relatively short time, and which such person is no longer able to make decisions regarding his/her medical treatment
masked grief (Worden)
occurs when persons experience symptoms and behaviors which cause them difficulty but they do not see or recognize the fact that these are related to the loss.
mitigation
any event, person or object that lessens the degree of pain in grief
motivation
the process that initiates, directs, and sustains behavior satisfying physiological or psychological needs
mourning
an adjustment process which involves grief or sorrow over a period of time and helps in the reorganization of the life of an individual following a loss or death of someone beloved
non-verbal communication
that which is expressed by posture, facial expression, actions, physical behavior; that which is communicated by means except verbally
option
choice of actions provided through counseling as a means of solving the counselee’s problem
panic
a strong emotion characterized by sudden and extreme fear
paraphrasing
expressing a thought or idea in an alternate and sometimes shortened form
personality
a relatively stable system of determining tendencies within an individual
person centered (client centered) counseling
a phrase coined by Carl Rogers to refer to that type of counseling where one comes actively and voluntarily to gain help on a problem, but without any notion of surrounding his/her own responsibility of the situation; a non-directive method of counseling which stresses the inherent worth of the client and the natural capacity for growth and health.
persuasion
a deliberate attempt to change attitudes or beliefs with information and arguments
positive regard
according to Carl Rogers, accepting the client/counselee as he/she is, without imposing judgements or stipulations
prejudice
negative attitude towards others based on their gender, religion, race, or membership in a particular group
pre-need counseling
that counseling which occurs before a death
projection
attribution of one’s unacceptable thoughts, feelings or behaviors to someone else
psychiatrist
a medical doctor with a specialty in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders
psychology
the scientific study of behavior and mental processes
psychotherapy (Jackson)
intervention with people whose needs are so specific that usually they can only be met by specially trained physicians or psychologists. The practitioners in this field need special training because they often work with deeper levels of consciousness.
rapport
a relation of harmony, conformity, accord or affinity established in any human interaction
rationalization
supplying a logical, rational, socially acceptable reason rather than the real reason for an action
regression
returning to more familiar and often more primitive modes of coping
resistance
an adaptive maneuver characterized by an inability or unwillingness to act with the aim of asserting or sustaining individual control, autonomy or self-esteem
respect (Wolfelt)
the ability to communicate the belief that everyone possesses the capacity and right to choose alternatives and make decisions
restitution
according to Simos, a compelling need by which the individual attempts to restore inner psychological equilibrium, uniting past, present, and future in the cycle from loss and the fear of loss to acceptance
ritual
any act charged with symbolic content
searching
preoccupied and intense thoughts about the deceased
shame
the assumption of blame directed toward one’s self by others
shock
the reaction of the body to an event often experienced emotionally as a sudden, violent and upsetting disturbance
situational counseling
related to specific situations in life that may create crises and produce human pain and suffering. This type of counseling adds another dimension to the giving of information in that it deals with significant feelings that are produced by life crises
social comparison
making judgments about ourselves through comparison with others
social facilitation
a phenomenon that occurs when an individual’s performance improves because of the presence of others
stress
the mental and physical condition that occurs when a person must adjust or adapt to the environment
stressor
any event capable of producing physical or emotional stress
sublimation
redirection of emotion to culturally or socially useful purposes
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
the sudden and unexpected death of an apparently healthy infant which remains unexplained after a complete autopsy and a review of the circumstances around the death
suicide
deliberate act of self-destruction
suicide gesture
an unsuccessful attempt made by a person to end his/her own life
suicide ideation
thoughts pertaining to ending one’s own life
summary
a brief review of points covered in a portion of the counseling session
suppression
a conscious postponement of addressing anxieties and concerns
survivor guilt
guilt felt by survivors
sympathy
sincere feelings for the person who is trying to adjust to a serious loss
thanatology
study of death
thanatophobia
an irrational, exaggerated fear of death
threat
a statement or action which creates anxiety in an individual’s life
unconscious
the region of the mind that is beyond awareness especially impulses and desires not directly known to a person
verbal communication
spoken, oral communication
warmth and caring (Wolfelt)
the ability to be considerate and friendly as demonstrated by both verbal and nonverbal behaviors
