Exploring Characteristics of Children Presenting to Counseling for Grief and Loss

To date, researchers exploring childhood bereavement have largely relied on unstandardized assessment instruments and/or have independently evaluated specific constructs rather than factoring in the dimensionality of loss. The purpose of this study was to utilize psychometrically established instruments to examine the multivariate shared relationship between characteristics of bereaved children referred for counseling--their ages, genders, ethnicities, types of loss, and life stressors—and their behavioral manifestations as well as the relationship between these characteristics and levels of parent-child relational stress. Utilizing archival clinical files, we examined these characteristics from bereaved children (N?=?98) whose parents sought counseling services from two university-based counseling clinics. Two canonical correlational analyses (CCA) were conducted to examine the following: (1) relationship between characteristics of bereaved children and their subsequent behavioral manifestations, (2) relationship between characteristics of bereaved children and levels of parent-child relational stress. Correlational findings from this study provided insight into bereaved children’s manifestations of loss and levels of parent-child relational stress as contingent upon these specific characteristics. Specifically, results indicated a strong relationship between age and bereaved children’s behavioral manifestations. This finding reinforced the importance for clinicians to understand developmental implications when working with bereaved children. Furthermore, caregivers who reported minimal overall external stressors also reported less parent-child relational interference. This finding further emphasizes the importance for caregivers to maintain utmost stability for bereaved children.     

A Review of On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss

Book reviewed in this article: Elizabeth Kübler‐Ross and David Kessler (2005). On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss.     

Grief Counseling for Muslim Preschool and Elementary School Children

This article describes Sunni Muslims' view of death, mourning and burial rituals, and accepted healing practices. Interventions for addressing death with Muslim children, group counseling, play therapy, and community outreach are discussed. A case study of interventions for coping with a preschool Muslim boy's death is provided. Este artículo describe la perspectiva sobre la muerte, el luto y los rituales de enterramiento, así como las prácticas de curación aceptadas de los musulmanes suníes. Se discuten intervenciones para tratar de la muerte con niños musulmanes, consejería de grupo, terapia de juego y vinculación con la comunidad. Se incluye un estudio de caso de intervenciones para el afrontamiento de la muerte de un niño musulman en edad preescolar.     

Spirituality and Loss: Approaches for Counseling Grieving Adolescents

The death of a loved one has serious implications for adolescent growth and development. The authors review relevant research on the grief process and spirituality in adolescence, and they give a rationale for integrating spirituality into adolescent grief work. By way of a case illustration, they draw implications for counselors’ use of spirituality in addressing adolescent grief.     

Helping Children Accept Death and Dying Through Group Counseling

This article suggests that the new wave of openness about death in our culture and the elimination of the death taboo will not be completely accomplished without developing a generalized practice in death counseling with children. A brief historical perspective of research confirms the necessity of including children in discussions about death education. A taped counseling session with several preadolescent boys in a rural midwestern school demonstrates the importance of accepting the deep feelings and fears that children must deal with in order to be free from unnatural anxiety about death and dying as adults.     

Circumstances of Death and Complicated Grief: Indirect Associations Through Meaning Made of Loss

Losses by violent means and the loss of primary attachment figures may increase the likelihood of developing a chronic and severe grief response (referred to as complicated grief, or CG). Path analysis was used to examine the relationships between these risk factors and CG symptoms. College student participants filled out online questionnaires relating to their bereavement. Analyses provided support for statistical models whereby meaning made of the loss fully mediated the association between cause of death and CG symptoms and partially mediated the association between relationship to the deceased and CG symptoms. Although based on cross-sectional data, these findings provide additional support for meaning-oriented understandings of adaptation to loss.     

Book Review of Handbook of Group Counseling and Psychotherapy

Book reviewed in this article: Handbook of Group Counseling and Psychotherapy by Janice L. DeLucia‐Waack, Deborah A. Gerrity, Cynthia R. Kalodner, & Maria T. Riva (Eds.), 2004     

Use of Bibliotherapy in the Treatment of Grief and Loss: A Guide to Current Counseling Practices

Grief is a complex and dynamic process influencing individuals of all ages. This article provides an overview of historical and contemporary constructs of grief counseling. Bibliotherapy, a creative counseling tool, is presented as an appropriate intervention when counseling grieving clients. Guidelines for using bibliotherapy with grieving clients are considered.     

Projective Techniques for Adolescents and Children (Book)

A large sample (N = 483) of community-living adults (M age = 23.6 years) responded to questions about the frequency and adequacy of emotional, practical, and informational support during the past month from three sources-confidants, peers, and supervisors-using the Multi-Dimensional Support Scale. Factor analysis was used to distinguish meaningful regularities in item responses, and the resulting five scales have high internal reliability. Scores correlated significantly with measures of self-esteem, depressive affect, and psychological disturbance according to the General Health Questionnaire. To investigate what contribution support measures could make to the prediction of psychological well-being, hierarchical regression analyses were carried out with stressors entered first and support scores entered second. As expected, respondents' psychological well-being was related to their level of life stress; however, the addition of social support measures doubled the explained variance in measures of psychological well-being. The support measure with the strongest association with well-being was the frequency of supportive behaviors toward the respondent by close family and friends.     

Grief and Recovery: The Prevalence of Grief and Loss in Substance Abuse Treatment

Grief from various losses can underlie the process of recovery from substance abuse disorders. This study identified losses that clients encountered prior to abusing substances, losses that occurred as a result of addiction, and losses that occurred upon entering treatment.     

Book Review of Empathy in Counseling and Psychotherapy: Perspectives and Practices

Book reviewed in this article: Empathy in Counseling and Psychotherapy: Perspectives and Practices by Arthur J. Clark, 2007     

The Trauma and Complicated Grief of Ambiguous Loss

Ambiguous loss is a newly identified type of loss that occurs when a loved one is physically present, but psychologically absent. Dementia is just one example. Because the lost person is here, but not here, grief is frozen, life is put on hold, and people are traumatized. With no official verification of death, no possibility of closure, and no rituals for support, there is no resolution of grief (Boss 1999). Clergy, especially pastoral counselors, can witness and provide comfort for such uncanny loss because people rely on them for support, not just from the clear loss of death, but from the ambiguous losses, catastrophic and ordinary, that inevitably will occur across the life course.     

Culture‐Specific Assets to Consider When Counseling Latina/o Children and Adolescents

Strength‐based cultural considerations for counseling Latina/o children and adolescents are not well articulated in the literature. Furthermore, research and demographic data indicate concerns for Latinas/os, such as acculturative stress and discrimination. This article describes treatment applications focused on Latina/o youth's cultural strengths, including family bonds, bilingual abilities, and bicultural skills. Métodos de conserjería basados en rasgos positivos de niños y adolescentes Latinos no se han articulado en la literatura. Además, las investigaciones y los datos demográficos presentan problemas con respeto a presión de acultivación, discriminación, y habilidad limitada en Ingles. Este artículo describe tratamiento centrado en los rasgos culturales positivos de la juventud Latina incluyendo enlaces de la familia, las capacidades bilingües, y las habilidades biculturales.