Grief and Bereavement Journal Club - Fitzroy

You are invited to the next meeting of the Grief and Bereavement Journal Club.

This group meets three times per year and provides an opportunity for the informal and relaxed discussion of recent research findings in the grief and bereavement field.

The paper which will be discussed at the November meeting is:

Sanger, M.(2009). When clients sense the presence of loved ones who have died. Omega, 59(1),69 - 89.

The continued bonds between bereaved individuals and the deceased are central to the process of mourning. One challenging form of continuing bond is that in which the mourner senses the actual presence of the deceased - i.e., seeing one’s deceased husband at the kitchen counter. Some see this experience as a sign of pathology while others see it as a normal, healthy aspect of grief and mourning. Twenty-one social workers shared their experiences in addressing this issue with clients. Despite conceptualizing this experience in a variety of ways, they all grounded their interactions with clients around this issue on the fundamental social work value of respecting the client’s dignity and experience. Their experiences and insights may be useful to other practitioners