Counting Our Losses: Reflecting on Change, Loss, and Transition in Everyday Life

by Harris; Darcy L.

• ISBN13: 9780415875295
• ISBN10: 0415875293
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2010-12-22
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This text is intended to be a resource for clinicians who work with clients dealing with non-death and ambiguous losses (those that are not the result of a death, but of events that are difficult to define concretely and associated with grief or change) in their lives. It explores adjustment to change, transition, and loss from the perspective of the latest thinking in bereavement theory and research. The specific and unique aspects of different types of loss are discussed, such as infertility, aging, chronic illnesses and degenerative conditions, divorce and separation, immigration, adoption, loss of beliefs, and loss of employment. The contributing authors consider these from an experiential perspective, rather than a developmental one, in order to focus on the key elements of each loss as it may be experienced at any point in the lifespan. Concepts related to adaptation and coping with loss, such as resilience, hardiness, meaning making and the assumptive world, transcendence, and post traumatic growth are considered as part of the integration of loss into everyday life experience.

Table of Contents

Series Editor's Foreword	p. xiii
Acknowledgments	p. xv
Introduction	p. xvii
About the Editor	p. xxv
About the Contributors	p. xxvii
Grief From a Broader Perspective: Nonfinite Loss, Ambiguous Loss, and Chronic Sorrow	p. 1
The Social Context of Loss and Grief	p. 15
Loss of The View of The World or Others
Loss of Safety and Security
Are You Safe? Understanding the Loss of Safety for Women and Children Who Experience Abuse	p. 29
Traumatic Events and Mass Disasters in the Public Sphere	p. 37
Vicarious Trauma and Professional Caregiver Stress: Occupational Hazards or Powerful Teachers?	p. 47
Relational Losses
Navigating Intimate Relationship Loss: When the Relationship Dies but the Person Is Still Living	p. 65
Adoption: A Life Begun With Loss	p. 75
Loss Related to Developmental Milestones: An Analysis of the Postparental Transition	p. 93
Grief and Caregiver Turnover in Nonfamilial Communities: Left Behind but Not Bereft	p. 103
Loss of Meaning or a Sense of Justice in The World
Existential Suffering: Anguish Over Our Human Condition	p. 119
Relinquishment of Certainty: A Step Beyond Terror Management	p. 127
Wrestling With the Loss of One's Faith Community	p. 133
Loss of The View of Self As Worthy or Valuable
Loss of Identity
The Trauma of Neglect: Loss of Self	p. 143
We Are Not Like Other People: Identity Loss and Reconstruction Following Migration	p. 151
Loss of Employment	p. 163
Infertility and Reproductive Loss	p. 171
Coming Out: Intrapersonal Loss in the Acquisition of a Stigmatized Identity	p. 183
Loss of Functionality
Chronic Degenerative Conditions, Disability, and Loss	p. 195
Loss of Functionality: Traumatic Brain Injury	p. 209
"Who Did You Used To Be?" Loss for Older Adults	p. 215
Coping with Losses in Life
Adaptation, Resilience, and Growth After Loss	p. 225
Meaning Making and the Assumptive World in Nondeath Loss	p. 239
Concluding Thoughts	p. 247
Index	p. 253
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.