Person-Centered therapy writings don't address grief directly. Any suggestions for considering application to a grieving population?

-- Debra Rose Wilson (Debrarose@mindspring.com), July 12, 2003

Answers

The literature on grief is so vast that I can't imagine why you'd want to insist on a person-centered approach rather than simply explore the richness of the existing tradtion, perhaps asking whether it is consistent with a Rogerian approach. There also really isn't such a thing as a "grieving population." Grief reactions vary according to (1) circumstances of death, (2) age and social position of the deceased person, (3) cultural/religious factors, and (4) underlying personality structure, (5) age/developmental stage of the person grieving--to name just a few of the variables.

-- Hendrika Vande Kemp (hendrika@earthlink.net), July 14, 2003.

I'm no expert, but I would guess that a Rogerian's approach to grief would be much like his/her approach to any other therapeutic situation. Listen, reinforce the client's attempts to verbalize his/her understanding of what has occurred, attempt to summarize from time to time, listen some more, facilitate the client's attempt to "come to terms with" his/her loss and "integrate" it into his/her "personal being."

-- Christopher Green (cgreen@chass.utoronto.ca), July 16, 2003.