Bereavement Groups and the Role of Social Support: Integrating Theory, Research, and Practice [Hardcover]

All too frequently, clinical practice consists of repeating year after year the methods learned in graduate training, occasionally seasoned by a technique learned in a continuing-education workshop. Bereavement Groups and the Role of Social Support gives clinicians what theyve been missing in other volumes: practical techniques that have a solid contemporary empirical basis. Deftly weaving together theory, research, and practice, this volume is a compendium of the latest practical thinking about bereavement support groups. Readers will learn when well-loved practices make sense and are supported by sound evidence, as well as which practices should possibly be discontinued. The book also contains the results of a qualitative study bringing together the best practices of experienced bereavement group leaders from around the world.

Introduction  1. Making Sense of Grief  2. Social Groups and the Support of Bereaved Individuals  3. Recruiting and Training Group Leadership  4. What Goes On Here? Developing Content for Adult Groups  5. Meeting Challenges in Support Groups  6. Supporting Children and Teens through Grief Groups  7. Dealing with Complicated Grief in the Support Group  Epilogue  References  Appendix  Index

Bereavement Groups and the Role of Social Support provides creative, evidence-based clinical and practical guidance for leading bereavement support groups.

William G. Hoy, DMin, FT, is clinical professor of medical humanities at Baylor University. For sixteen years, he directed the bereavement counseling program for Pathways Volunteer Hospice in Long Beach, California. In that role, he led hundreds of bereavement support group sessions, trained volunteer and clinical group leaders, and provided clinical oversight to a pl“,