week 1 Flashcards
key figure and primary thinker in this area of psychology of grief
British psychiatrist John Bowlby
Bowlby’s attachment theory
to create a strong affectional bond with others and a way to understand the strong emotional reaction that occurs when those bonds are threatened or broken
(tendency in humans/animals to make strong affectionate bonds with each other fulfills the need of safety and security)
At what point does Bowlby point out about attachment?
attachment occurs in the absence of the reinforcement of these biogenic needs
bowlbys thesis
is that these attachments come from a need for security and safety; they develop early in life and are usually directed toward a few specific individuals and tend to endure through out a large part of the life cycle
what does bowlby suggest about children’s parents
that they provide the secure base of operation from which to explore
George Engel (1961) thesis
is that the loss of a loved one pis psychologically traumatic to the same extent that being severely wounded or burned is physiologically traumatic.
What is happening before restoration of function takes place
mourning
normal grief is also referred to
-who helped with the earliest attempts to look at normal grief reactions
uncomplicated grief;
a broad range of feelings and behaviors that are common after a loss
-Erich lindermann (1944)
5 criteria of grief syndrome (6)
- somatic or bodily distress of some type
- preoccupation with the image of the deceased
- guilt relating to the deceased or circumstances of death
- hostile reactions
- inability to function as one had before the loss
- appeared to develop traits of the deceased in their own behavior
4 categories related to normal grief regarding behaviors
Dr. J William worden
- feelings
- physical sensations
- cognitions
- behaviors
What is the most common feeling
- sadness
- not manifested by crying behavior, but often is.
- crying is a signal that evokes a sympathetic and protective reaction from others and establishes a social situation in which normal laws of competitive behavior are suspended
- some mourners have fear of sadness, “fear of its intensity”
emotion that is frequently experienced after a loss
anger
- one of most confusing feelings for survivor and is root of many problems in grieving process
- can lead to complicated mourning
- one of riskiest
- maladaptations of anger is the posture of turning the anger inward against the self; could develop into suicidal behavior
- anger outwards is known as blame
guilt or self reproach
guilt is manifested over something that happened or something that was neglected around the time of the death, something that may have prevented the loss.
-guilt is irrational
-can range from a light sense of insecurity to a strong panic attack, and the more intense and persistent, the more it suggests an abnormal grief reaction
anxiety
- 2 sources
- fear the survivor will not be able to take care of themselves on their own
- heightened sense of personal death awareness
feeling frequently expressed by survivors (8)
- loneliness
- particularly by widows. - fatigue
- helplessness
- caused by stress - shock
- occurs in sudden death - yearning ; to be reunited with the deceased
- emancipation
- positive feeling after death - relief ; occur with families with long term illness
- numbness
- lack of feelings
physical sensations experienced by people who are grieving (9)
- hollowness in stomach
- tightness in chest
- tightness in throat
- oversensitivity to noise
- sense of depersonalization
- breathlessness, feeling short of breath
- weakness in the muscles
- lack of energy
- dry mouth
cognitions
-certain thoughts are common in the early stages of grieving and usually disappear after a short time (5)
- disbelief
- confusion
- preoccupation
- sense of presence
- hallucinations
- visual and auditory type
behaviors
-range from sleep and appetite disturbances to absentmindedness and social withdrawl (12)
- sleep disturbances
- appetite disturbances
- absentminded behavior
- social withdrawal
- dreams of deceased
- avoiding reminders of the deceased
- searching and calling out
- sighing
- restless hyperactivity
- crying
- visiting places or carrying objects that remind the survivor of the deceased
- treasuring objects that belonged to the deceased
- Grief and depression
- criteria for diagnosing depression
- treating depression - melancholia
- a mood or emotional marked by feeling of low self worth or guilt and reduced ability to enjoy life
- people take notice of mood; decrease of interest or activity level; eating or weight; sleeping patterns ; those aspect have to be seen or observed for 2 weeks or more; effect of self worth**
- talk based therapy and medication - a pathological form of grief and is very much like mourning (normal grief) except that it has a certain characteristic feature of its own; namely, angry impulses toward the ambivalently loved person turned inward
the study of behavior and mental processes in humans and animals
psychology
predicts how a person will behave
empirically
operation of the mind in total (thoughts, memories, dreams, rationale, etc)
cognitive process
goals of psychology
- explain behavior and thought
- predict behavior and thought
- influence behavior and thought
individual who is trained in working with people with mental disorders and emotional problems
-masters level
therapist
person who gives advice based on sme
-no degree but what kind of skills can they bring
counselor
they are professional who works with different methodologies providing services to a group of individuals; economic, physical, mental and social areas
social worker
Edward Martin in 1952 wrote a book
“the psychology of funeral service”
- only by having a diverse educational background can a funeral director behind to understand the people they serve
- grief stricken people must be handled delicately and by having a sound psychological background a funeral directors success is greatly increased.
where does the funeral director fit into grief counseling?
- seen as expert on death and dying
- death of a loved one is stressful event and FDs have a way of assisting in navigating this difficult time
- FDs are expected to be able to talk about grief to the community
purpose and value of the funeral
- provides ceremonies that give expression to feelings
- provides the framework for group support
- encourages the expression of feelings
- funeral provides values to live by
The helping process
phase 1; the family and FD enter into a helping relationship
phase 2; building of a helping relationship
phase 3; explorations and assistance with the family understanding their alternatives
phase 4; consolidation and planning
phase 5; implementation and action
phase 6; conclusion of the funeral process
phase 7; post funeral follow up
- emotion or group of emotions caused by a loss
- internal
Grief
outward expression of grief after a loss
-external
mourning
the event of separation or loss that results in the experience of grief.
- means “torn away”
bereavement
- the advice or comfort given by clergy members to those people in need of help with their emotional problems or stressful stituations
- branch of counseling with psychologically trained clergy members providing therapeutic services while integrating religious thought and psychological methodologies to achieve and work with people on their psycho spiritual needs
pastoral psychology
wrote “the many faces of grief”
-Edgar Jackson
Edgar Jackson created 4 categories of loss
- loss of significant other
-death or divorce - loss of part of yourself
-limb/self esteem/career - loss of external object
-home/iPhone/car - developmental loss
empty nest syndrome/ learning opportunity
defined as an affectional tie that one person or animal forms between themselves and another
-a tie that binds them together in space and endures over time
attachment
bowlby 4 fundamental principles
- attachment develops early in life
- attaching to a few specific other people
- attachment has tendency to endure throughout ones life
- animal attachment
types of attachments
- secure;
- avoidant; pull away rather than stay
- ambivalent; insecure and don’t know much
5 stages of death and dying
- denial
- anger
- bargaining
- depression
- acceptance
Erich Lindemann
created normal grief
-developed grief work; loosening attachment to that which has been lost for appropriate investment
-coconut grove fire
nightclub that burned down and killed 500 people, Boston MA October 28th 1942
thantaphobia
fear of death
