Reflecting on Change, Loss, and Transition in Everyday Life

Edited by Darcy L. Harris

This core, introductory textbook for undergraduate and graduate level courses is the first volume to combine the knowledge and skills of counseling psychology with current theory and research in grief and bereavement.

It is grounded in the belief that grief counseling is distinct from other therapeutic issues because grief is an adaptive response rather than a form of pathology. The book describes the unique aspects of grief as a normal response to loss and views the goal of counseling bereaved individuals as one of facilitating the unfolding of the healthy and adaptive aspects of the process as it must manifest itself within each client. Grief is considered as a response to losses that are both death- and non-death related. The text introduces various theories of bereavement and counseling and discusses the basic skills required for successful interventions with bereaved individuals, particularly that of “presence.”

A persistent thread running throughout the text is that grief is not just a psychological issue that is experienced in isolation, but something that can be experienced physically, socially, economically, and practically. The text also considers grief counselingwith special populations, ethical issues, and caregiver issues for counselors.

Key Features:

• Regards grief therapy as a unique form of counseling based on grief as an adaptive response rather than a form of pathology
• Combines the knowledge and skills of counseling psychology with current research in grief and bereavement
• Addresses requisite skills for successful interventions with bereaved individuals
• Written by a prominent clinician and an educator with combined experience of over 60 years in grief counseling
• Includes case studies, discussion and reflection questions, and suggested additional resources in each chapter