Dying, Death and Grief
Working with Adult Bereavement
Dying, Death and Grief is written for anyone who provides support to adults following bereavement. Whether you work in a professional or voluntary capacity, bereavement care requires empathy, judgment, and skill to ensure that your response matches the needs of the person you are helping. Recognizing that we all experience bereavement differently, this book introduces theory and skills which can be used in any context to address a wide range of needs.
The author explains the theoretical background to attachment and loss and the core skills needed to support people who have been bereaved. Case studies and personal accounts are included to illustrate key points and exercises are provided to help you examine your own experiences and attitudes in relation to loss. The book also takes into account topics that are frequently overlooked in other texts such as sexuality, spiritual responses to loss, cultural influences and diversity, as well as the nature of chronic and disenfranchised grief.
Dying, Death and Grief is designed for use on a wide range of training and academic courses, which prepare practitioners to work with the bereaved. Professionals in a range of settings including hospitals and in the community as well as volunteers in hospices and nursing homes will find this a useful source of guidance.
'This is a well written book that makes a very useful addition to the field' - Therapy Today, February 2009
'A refreshing, down-to-earth text that examines theory and research without becoming an academic tome. It is comprehensive, focused on practice and contains important insights for developing the essential skills required to provide effective bereavement care' - Dr John Costello, Head of Primary Care, University of Manchester
Excellent resource for bereavement training and counselling. Good mixture of theoretical concepts, case studies, practical coping strategies and quotes.
This is a valuable teaching resources when teaching about end of life care, the theories of grief and cultural differences in coping with death.
Often the topic of thanatology is taught through health care/studies, but I have the unique opportunity to teach 'the psychology of death' through 3rd psychology modules. At lot of the standard text books are from the 1970s, and have not advanced greatly in terms of changes to the research (e.g. Schulz and Kastenbaum). Therefore, students often have to track down second-hand books. In ''Dying, Death and Grief'' by Mallon, this texts provides provides an excellent concise summary of key thanatological issues. This also covers issues of 'spirituality' and 'dreams' during death, dying and bereavement. Such issues have seldom been considered, even though since the 1970s we have been fully aware of parapsychological issues such a 'hallucinations of widowhood' during the dying and bereavement stage. It is great to see this text allow the students to think outside of the box and consider some leading issues in today's research on death and dying. Essential reading for any course dealing with matters of thanatology.
Well written, focuses on practice. A very readable chapter on spirituality, religion, culture and rituals.
easy to read and digest, for students and tutors alike
