Spiritual Belief and Bereavement

Question 1

As outlined by Colin Murray Parke (1972), what are the four phases of grief?

Answer 1

1. Numbness / disbelief
2. Yearning / pining / anger
3. Disorganisation / dispair
4. Reorganisation

Question 2

What tasks must a person go through to overcome a sense of a loss? Worden’s Tasks of Mourning (1983)

Answer 2

• Accept the reality of the loss
• Work through pain of grief
• Adjust to an environment in which the deceased is missing
• Emotionally relocate the decreased & move on

Question 3

What factors impact how severe grief may be experienced by someone?

Answer 3

• How close the relationship was
• Meaningfulness of relationship
• Nature of relationship before death
• Expectedness / manner of death
• Age / developmental stage of griever