To return to Convening's homepage, click here.
To return to Convening XXIX's Table of Contents, click here.
Kathryn R. O'Neil,
University of Memphis,
585 So. Greer #102,
Memphis, TN
Good Grief!???? Yes, even in the worst lost, the death of a loved one, one can find some good. That good part of
grief is found in the personal growth that can occur when a person deals constructively with the loss and moves
forward through their grief, instead of going around it. The pain of losing a love one may serve as the impetus
for the bereaved person to seek support and guidance through grief therapy. This experiential session will
demonstrate how grief therapy groups can be instrumental in helping grieving persons recognize the behavioral,
affective and cognitive distortions that are normal reactions to death.
Although no two people grieve alike, there are some basic similarities in the grieving process. Participants will
learn what these similarities are and how to help grieving group members normalize their reactions to their loss.
Grieving is also unique. Factors affecting the length and the intensity of grief will be discussed, as well as ways to
explain those differences to members of the grief group. Age-appropriate exercises will be presented that help
the bereaved to open up and to share their personal grief stories, to talk about the deceased and to remember
aloud times shared with their loved ones.
Rituals that can be incorporated into the group session also will be demonstrated and discussed. Death of a
loved one does indeed create a crisis situation There is the danger that the loss will overwhelm the individual to
the extent that serious pathology may result, but there is also the opportunity to grow stronger psychologically
and spiritually. This experiential workshop will simulate a grief group and attempt to demonstrate how crying
together, laughing together, and going through the grieving process with others can be both healing and growth
provoking. Based on the Kidz n Grief program developed by Beth Pile as an extension of the Hospice program of
Mary Immaculate Hospital in Newport News, Virginia, the model for this program came originally from the
Dougie Center in Portland, Oregon.
To return to Convening's homepage, click here.
To return to Convening XXIX's Table of Contents, click here.