[...]... unique place in the life of the grandchild, often offering a level of unconditional love and acceptance that can be found only in the grandparent-grandchild relationship When there is a death of a grandparent who has served as a surrogate parent in a kinship care capacity, the response for the adolescent is as powerful as the death of a parent would be The grandparent, one of the adolescent’s life anchors,... expresses grief in unique ways: the dominant American pattern is often to deny death with a minimization of all rituals Traditional Greek and Italian women bear the outward signs of mourning for their spouse by wearing black for the rest of their lives Jewish people have a prescribed pattern of ritual that mandates burial within 24 hours of death and a week of family mourning Irish families consider death a. .. Voices of Bereavement: A Casebook for Grief Counselors “fitting in.” A death in the life of an adolescent can topple the fragile sense of self that holds the adolescent together After a death, many adolescents, with the aid and support of family and others, will recover a sense of equilibrium within months of the death Others may require professional evaluation and intervention The profile of the adolescent... maturational levels are factors in the depth of the bereavement experience; closeness to the deceased is also a major factor Coping with bereavement involves the interplay between the tasks and conflicts of each maturational phase of adolescence and the grief experience RT6158_C02.fm Page 18 Wednesday, April 28, 2004 3:11 PM 18 Voices of Bereavement: A Casebook for Grief Counselors Death of a Grandparent... way as an adult and her bereavement casts her as a parental figure before she is developmentally ready RT6158_C00.fm Page xiii Thursday, April 29, 2004 3:54 PM Preface xiii Approaches Toward Helping The work of many theorists has informed my approach to helping A key theoretical concept, which applies to almost every case cited, is that of disenfranchised grief Doka’s (198 9a, 200 2a) conceptualization... journey of writing this book, I began to see certain themes that guided the work, a certain level of awareness that informed and expanded my understanding of the task of helping those in grief There are two themes that I particularly want to highlight: the impact of culture and lifestyle, and the importance of assessing the developmental stage of the bereaved Cultural norms and imperatives are a major... years, larger corporations have begun to create employee assistance programs to help manage the emotional life of the company (Lattanzi-Licht, 2002) It is reasonable to expect employers to be more sensitive and aware of the impact of a coworker’s death on the other employees and adjust leave time accordingly Employers need to understand that grief takes time and to be more aware of the impact of death... minutes later, the doctor came out to tell them that Dave had had a massive coronary episode and it was unlikely that he would make it Ernie and Dave’s wife went into the acute care area Dave was unconscious, hooked to a variety of monitors, and looked dreadful He died during the night Ernie was devastated His partner at the water company was gone, but the most profound loss was that of Dave’s unlimited... die—will plague the adolescent These questions may lead to feelings of anxiety and confusion and a loss of a sense of mastery and control Concerns may surface about the safety of other family members as well as fears for his or her safety (Hatter, 1996) The centrality of the relationship with the grandparent is perhaps the most powerful predictor of adolescent grief Grandparents potentially occupy a unique... trust, loyalty, companionship, and sometimes love Friendships are more significant than acquaintances; they involve selfrevelation and disclosure, an exchange of confidences, and acceptance (Doka, 198 9a) Although friendships vary in intensity, they can create RT6158_C01.fm Page 4 Wednesday, April 28, 2004 5:05 PM 4 Voices of Bereavement: A Casebook for Grief Counselors meaning in lives, lend a focus and . Challenge of Personal Change Cleiren — Bereavement and Adaptation: A Comparative Study of the Aftermath of Death Corless, Pittman-Lindeman — AIDS: Principles,. 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Beder, Joan, 1944- Voices of bereavement: a casebook for grief counselors / Joan Beder. p.