Creative interventions in grief counseling for violent loss
(Book - Regular Print)

Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 47-06.

Adviser: Haley, Carmen

Thesis (M.A.)--Prescott College, 2009.

The author examines grief recovery literature and narrative therapy to create grief recovery tools to assist grievers who have experienced traumatic and violent loss from suicide, homicide or accidental death. Trauma-related grief is unique because it sets the person up for feelings of helplessness, powerlessness, fear, and lack of control. In terms of research methods, the author adopts Dr. Rynearson's re-telling violent death method complimented by narrative therapy techniques to help survivors cope. The research results reveal the benefit of allowing the survivor to create an alternate ending story beyond the traumatic narrative through re-storying his or her life and the end of life for his or her loved one. Articulating a narrative method of therapy that borrows from a number of grief sources, the author develops creative counselor tools to help people to an effective and life-enhancing recovery.