The development of a practice framework Essays

The development of a practice framework Essays The development of a practice framework Essay The development of a practice framework Essay Although there appears to be a emphasis on adopting an eclectic approach The development of a practice framework for professionals working in the area of human services and although the individual may not necessarily have control over whether they will experience loss throughout their life, they can control how they respond to them. However, Reactions to traumatic events seem to be determined by a number of variables such as the nature of the event, the character, personality, previous and present experiences, beliefs, attitudes and expectations, beliefs of the individual involved (Parkinson, 1997). Positives and negatives of various theoretical approaches What difference does their approach have in relation to grief and loss Some people work purely from theory while others work predominantly from personal experience. whereas sympathy seeks to console, empathy works to understand empathy requires a certain emotional distance you have to step away from grief, fear, and anger to create a space in which your thoughts can exert a calming influence on your feelings (Ciaramicoli Ketcham, 2000). Empathy Traditional forms of mutilation for bereavement were, and in some instances still are, practiced among the indigenous people of Australia. For example, in Queensland many aboriginal tribes slashed their bodies or foreheads to show sorrow at the death or injury of a kin (Wilson, 1982). Many Westerners who work at assisting the bereaved have notions of grief pathology such as grief that is never expressed, grief that goes on to intensely for too long, grief that is delayed, grief that involves delusions, grief that involves threat to others, and grief that involves self-injury (Parkes, 1997). Professionals who work with people who have suffered loss must prepare themselves psychologically and philosophically for this work, and a key aspect of this is to be able to accept suffering as endemic to life (Kennedy, 1990). Grief can be expressed through such masked appearances as school absenteeism and bed wetting in children, delinquency and drug abuse in adolescents (and adults), and promiscuity, suicide, and diverse physical and mental illnesses in adults (Fiefel, 1995). Stroebe and Stroebe (19 ) state that grief is a normal affective response to the loss of a loved one which, if it runs an uncomplicated course does not require therapeutic intervention (p. 8). However, the focus of the majority of early research into grief and loss has been in relation to conjugal bereavement ( ) and the terminally ill patient ( ). Research into the area of grief and loss during the latter part of the 20th has identified a broad range of losses, albeit tangible or intangible, that can initiate a grief response. Furthermore, the literature on grief and loss has recognized the impact of traumatic events and a broad range of factors that include the individuals interpretation of the event ( ), the nature of the event (Parkinson, 2000; Davidson Baum, 1990), gender (Kritsberg, 1993), age (Rosenthal, 2000), level of maturity, previous experience and coping strategies (Davies Holden, 1997), support networks (Figley, 1988; Miller, 1994), and cultural display rules (Moos, 1995; Atkinson, 1997). is not yet a fully recognized academic discipline (Miller Omarzu, 1998). Unlike trauma which is acknowledged Loss is a subjective experience and, for this very reason, two or more people encounter the same the persons reaction In psychology, modernism has given rise to the machine metaphor of human functionality. When applied to grief, this view suggests that people need to recover from their state of intense emotionality and return to normal functioning and effectiveness as quickly and efficiently as possible (Stroebe, Gergen, Gergen Stroebe, 1995, p. 233). 1995, 226). Beginning with Freud, theorists have understood the purpose of grief as relinquishing the lost object so that new attachments in the present can be formed and that failure to sever the bond has been defined as pathological or complicated grief (Klass, 1995). Theoretical approaches based on psychodynamics, attachment theory, social construction of loss, cognitive theories and constructivist psychology constitute the major movements that have evolved over the twentieth century with respect to our knowledge about loss and grief (Murray, 2003). Answers perhaps as to why people do not go through a normal grieving process. According to the romanticist concept of grief the death of a beloved person was a defining event in the life of the bereaved, signaling the beginning of what was often a lifelong memorialisation of the deceased (DeSpelder Strickland, 1995). Since mourning is a process and not a state, incompleted tasks can impair further growth and development, although the tasks do not necessarily follow a specific order, there is some ordering suggested in the definitions, you cannot handle the emotional impact of a loss until you first come to terms with the fact that the loss has happened (Worden, 1991). Grieving does not proceed in a linear fashion, it may reappear to be reworked (Worden, 1991). There is not definitive time for when mourning is finished four months, one year, never (Worden, 1991). Only when the lost person has been internalized and become a part of the bereaved is the mourning process complete (Parkinson, 2000). The process of psychological debriefing should be an essential component in our response to survivors of traumatic events (Parkinson, 2000) As with adults, children follow different paths through their grief experiencing different reactions at different times (Fitzgerald, 1992). The most significant variable contributing to response to bereavement was having a history of psychological disturbance and those having a history were more likely to describe themselves as anxious and depressed, socioeconomic status was a significant contributor to depression and state and chronic anxiety levels in the bereaved individuals (Bartrop, Hancock, Craig, Porritt, 1992). A number of risk factors that have the potential to complicate normal grief reactions include sudden, unexpected death, traumatic events, ambivalence in a relationship, pre-existing psychopathology, concurrent crises, perceived preventability, lack of social support (McKissock, 1998). Of all the risk factors, centrality, the degree of significance the person who has died has in our everyday life, to our identity or our sense of well being, is the most likely to indicate the intensity of grief we experience (McKissock, 1998). Bereaved people dont let go, the reconnect through memories and changing perceptions to form a new relationship with the person who has died (McKissock, 1998). Men and women grieve differently, men tend to seek solace in the warmth of familiar sexual intimacy with their partners whereas women long for emotional closeness, or hugs that dont demand a response (McKissock, 1998).