When A Child Grieves: Psychoanalytic Understanding and Technique [Paperback]

For many years, debate has raged as to whether children are capable of embarking on a true mourning process. In When a Child Grieves, Corinne Masur provides an excellent overview of the myriad psychoanalytic theories on the subject and demonstrates conclusively that children can and do mourn. She describes how children and adolescents experience grief and how the mourning process can go awry. Dr Masur provides ample guidelines for the evaluation and treatment of children and adolescents struggling with their grief, alongside a multitude of clinical examples to illustrate her salient points. One detailed and poignant case history is returned to throughout the book, that of a three-year-old who lost his father to suicide. This sensitive and important work fills a void in the literature and will become a key text for trainees and qualified psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, clinicians, and other professionals working with bereaved children. In this well-researched and personal work, Corinne Masur sensitively addresses one of the most painful experiences in life: a child's loss of a parent. Masur cogently addresses the psychological challenges a child faces, taking into account the suffering and efforts to adapt to this most painful loss while on the journey to becoming a self. Enriched by existing studies on the topic, Masur's reportage constitutes a highly informative narrative. The reader will be well rewarded by Masur's scholarship. Henri Parens, MD, formerly Professor of Psychiatry, Division of Child and Family Psychiatry, T. Jefferson Medical College; training and supervising (adult & child) analyst, Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia Corinne Masur presents a comprehensive review of past and present psychoanalytic thinking about children who have suffered parental bereavement. She champions an approach which respects individuality and the need for personal understanding. Respecting the importance of key people in the children's everyday lives, she alsl³<