1. Loss and Bereavement

2. Loss and Bereavement 12.15pm – Introduction and welcome
12.30pm – Theory / Models of Grief & Bereavement
1.00pm – Lunch
2.15pm – Personal Loss
2.45pm – Working with loss
3.15pm – Small group discussions
3.45pm – Ending

3. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s five stages of grief
1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance
Here are some well know theories from the field of bereavement and loss:
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross – five stages of grief
Kübler-Ross E (1969) On Death and Dying, Simon & Shuster New York

4. Worden’s four tasks of mourning
To accept the reality of the loss
To work through to the pain of grief
To adjust to an environment in which the deceased is missing
To emotionally relocate the deceased and move on with life
Worden WJ (1993) Grief Counselling & Grief Therapy, Routledge London
Here are some well know theories from the field of bereavement and loss:
2. Worden’s four tasks of mourning

5. Discuss: Although they are not written in person-centred language:
As a person-centred practitioner, what are your thoughts about these theories?
Can you see any overlap between these theories and the person centred approach
do you recognise anything in these theories which you have experienced as a part of a person-centred counselling relationship?
These are not person-centred authors, but are widely used theories. How do you view these as person-centred practitioners? Do they speak to you at all in terms of your own understanding of person-centred theory?

6. Personal Loss What loss have you experienced personally?
What was this like for you?
What was it that you needed at this time?
Did you feel you able to grieve the way you needed to – was your grief or sense of loss recognised by others?
Do you have any views about the process of grief – how long it lasts, how this process might vary for you depending on the loss?
_____
You have half an hour to think about the losses you have experienced and then discuss with others what you are comfortable sharing.
Loss relates to death, jobs, relationships, health, feelings (safety) and expectations (driving test). Often others influence how we feel we should be able to grieve ‘don’t you think it’s time to move on?’ Did you recognise these feelings as ones of grief? Everyone is invited to note the loss they have experienced – a list, a map, a diagram. People can consider loss in any way that feels comfortable for them – loss being a spectrum from losing car keys to the death of a loved one. Cultural differences.

7. Working with loss
In the last exercise, how was it for you to be in touch with your own experience of loss?
How might your experience of loss be a benefit or a challenge to your counselling relationships?
What are the losses you fear most?  How might it be if a client brought this kind of loss to counselling?
What, if anything, might you do to explore this area further?

8. Ending
Consider the inevitable ending of all things , the session, the course and Kinnoull, the therapeutic relationship .... and ask for comments