Grief and loss: a social work perspective

Some things every social worker should know about grief counseling

http://livingwithoutthemoon.com/socialcase.html

Our foundation has only the expertise in music to support children who have suffered a loss of life. the professional mental health care environment is provided by partner organizations whose work is world-class and dedicated. The following compilation is about them and about activities, about the work that accompanies the mourning person and finally returns to the loving environment. We are looking forward to the application of researchers, professionals and organizations whose activities fit into the ecosystem below and join the supply environment with therapies with adults and children.

1. It’s important to understand key facts about the grieving process, or social workers could make things worse or fail to spot the warning signs of unnatural grief. The following five areas contain essential information for successful grief counseling http://www.bestsocialworkprograms.com/lists/5-things-every-social-worker-should-know-about-griefcounseling/
2. Despite the wealth of research that exists in the area of death, grief and loss, the scarcity of literature examining the impact upon social work practitioners is troubling. This article initially draws upon a case study to explore this impact through the theoretical framework of disenfranchised grief. Further comment is made regarding the possible factors which have led to the profession as a whole experiencing disenfranchised grief. This article concludes by arguing that practitioners are best served through the use of ‘super-vision’ which enables them to not only examine their practice, but also their response to death, grief and loss. http://oro.open.ac.uk/35039/

SOCIAL CARE PROFESSIONALS COPE WITH DEATH

1. It presents current goals, content, format, and assignments. It also addresses strategies utilized to assist students in processing and integrating this powerful practice material. http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195335224.001.0001/acprof9780195335224-chapter-6
2. If Bob is right that love involves the formation of identity in and through another person, then to fully “get over grief” would be to unravel one’s identity. Besides external commemorations of a deceased loved one, an ongoing stance of inward commemoration is a wholesome way of continuing love, and the lack of it is more likely than not to represent serious dysfunction. http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199740192.001.0001/acprof9780199740192-chapter-9?rskey=1JHWG7&result=4
3. Social workers encounter complex and diverse forms of loss throughout their practice. Working with Loss, Death and Bereavement helps trainee and practitioners navigate these difficult situations by developing the skills and values necessary for effective and empowering practice. https://www.scie-socialcareonline.org.uk/working-with-loss-death-and-bereavement-a-guide-forsocial-workers/r/a11G00000017xQqIAI
4. States that knowing the signs and symptoms of childhood grief will help support children through the grieving process. Discusses causes of children’s grief, the cycle of acute grief, the importance of helping children work through grief, the effects and the characteristics of grieving children, and lists 21 ways to help. https://www.scie-socialcareonline.org.uk/a-childs-experience-of-grief/r/a1CG0000000GQZCMA4
5. Good palliative, end of life and bereavement care relies on a range of formal and informal support. We trust that this resource will be accessible and clear to anyone who wants to know more about the role of social work. There are also appendices that provide additional information for social workers and those who support or work with them. http://www.palliativecareggc.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/The-Role-of-social-workers-inpalliative-end-of-life-and-bereavement-care.pdf

SOCIAL WORKERS TOOLBOX

1. The paper begins with a brief review of the literature on mourning, which highlights various perspectives on the role and nature of the process. A model of mourning which embraces the differences between adult and child mourning will be proposed which is informed by the principles of attachment theory and defined as a continuing process of adjustment rather than a resolvable experience of loss. This model of mourning has implications for social work intervention and is the foundation of the practice model. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02650539508415068
2. For direct work with children and adults by social workers. Because children and teens understand death differently from adults, their reactions may be different. Some of the things they say or do may seem puzzling. This guide reviews how children grieve and how parents and other caring adults can help them understand death better. It offers suggestions for helping children cope. These suggestions are not meant to rush children through their grief or turn them into adults before their time. Rather, they will give them an understanding they can use now, as children, to grieve in a healthy and meaningful way. http://www.socialworkerstoolbox.com/category/mental-health/grief-loss/

https://www.flickr.com

AS A SUPPORTER, YOU PLAY A VERY IMPORTANT ROLE IN A CHILD’S LIFE

1. It is now well recognised that very young children, including babies, do experience grief, they just show it differently. When someone familiar dies, the overriding response in the under 5s is a sense of loss. Being too young to understand the cause, and lacking the vocabulary, they express their distress through their behaviour. https://childbereavementuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Supporting-bereaved-children-under5-years-of-age_07.18.pdf https://childbereavementuk.org/for-families/info-sheets/
2. Unresolved grief that can overwhelm children and possibly produce — begin to work on and process the now well-identified tasks of — normal grief https://www.lianalowenstein.com/articleComplicatedGriefGoldman.pdf
3. As a supporter, you play a very important role in a child’s life — the work you do will not only serve them in their grief, but will help them to cope with other challenges that they might face in their lives. https://www.childrenandyouthgriefnetwork.com/#handbook

IMPROVE THE BEST PRACTICES OF FRONTLINE PROFESSIONAL SOCIAL WORKERS

1. This paper describes a case study of the application of ideas and practices from grief therapy in eight sessions of work with a child by integrating the art and play elements. The social worker helped the client to go through four tasks suggested by Worden (1991) for handling grief, which consist of accepting the reality of the loss, working through the pain of grief, adjusting to an environment in which the deceased is missing, and emotionally relocating the deceased and moving on with life. Excerpts from the transcription of the different sessions are included to demonstrate the positive changes of client’s mood and behaviours. http://ssweb.cityu.edu.hk/download/RS/E-Journal/Vol2/journal10.pdf
2. Death, Dying, and Bereavement: Contemporary Perspectives,. Supporting Grieving Children by Linda Goldman. Their chapters discuss the most significant facets of early development, review important current work, and assess major challenges and hopes for the future in the areas of their expertise. A substantial chronology of important milestones in the contemporary movement introduces the book, frames the chapters to follow, and provides guidance for further, in-depth reading. The book first focuses on the interdisciplinary intellectual achievements that have formed the foundation of the field of thanatology. The section on institutional innovations encompasses contributions in hospice and palliative care of the dying and their families; funeral service; and death education. The section on practices addresses approaches to counseling and providing support for individuals, families, and communities on issues related to dying, bereavement, suicide, trauma, disaster, and caregiving. An Afterword identifies challenges and looks toward future developments that promise to sustain, further enrich, and strengthen the movement. http://lghttp.48653.nexcesscdn.net/80223CF/springerstatic/media/samplechapters/9780826171412/9780826171412_chapter.pdf
3. Grief and loss theory in social work practice: All changes involve loss, just as all losses require change https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1447-0748.2005.00201.x

(PRE)SCHOOL SOCIAL WORK WITH GRIEVING CHILDREN

1. Social workers’ communication with children involved in child protection https://www.iriss.org.uk/resources/irissfm/social-workers-communication-children-involved-childprotection.
2. A review of the literature reveals few articles that deal with social work with grieving children in the public school setting. The purpose of this research is to describe and analyze the services that school social workers provide to grieving children. Grieving children are defined as those who have experienced loss through death of someone significant (e.g., parent, sibling, grandparent, friend).

This research addressed the following questions:

What are school social workers’ experiences working with grieving children? 2) What services are provided? 3) Which interventions do school social workers utilize? 4) To what community resources do school social workers refer grieving students? 5) How prepared do school social workers feel to provide support to grieving children? 6) How and by whom are grieving children identified and assessed? 7) Are other disciplines providing services to grieving children in schools? If so, what services are they providing? and 8) Do barriers exist in providing school social work to grieving students? If yes, what are they? https://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/58005/1/QuinnLee_umn_0130E_10809.pdf

If you are working in a social-help field and want to get more information (theoretical and practical methodology, unique innovative approaches, extraordinary prospects), learn more and more systematically about working with children who have suffered loss, then contact us. Introduce us in a few words and we will help you to apply the most up-to-date experiential knowledge in your own work with the affected children. thank you for working with us on this matter.

Mail: professional@livingwithoutthemoon.com skype: LIVE: ME_16135 LivingWithoutTheMoon Foundation Worldwide http://www.livingwithoutthemoon.com/contactus.html