The Shame of Death, Grief, and Trauma

by KAUFFMAN; JEFFREY

• ISBN13: 9780415997485
• ISBN10: 0415997488
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-02-24
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Shame is a common and pervasive feature of the human response to death and other losses, yet this often goes unrecognized due to a reluctance to acknowledge and confront it. This book intends to expose shame for what it is, allowing clinicians to see that it is the central psychological force in the understanding of death and mourning. Kauffman and his fellow authors explore the psychology of shame via observation, reflection, theory, and practice in order to demonstrate the significant role it can play in our processing of grief, death, and trauma. The authors avoid defining a unified theory of shame in order to emphasize its multitude of meanings and the impact this has on grief and grief therapy. First-person narratives provide a personal look at death and associated feelings of guilt, shock, and grief; and other chapters consider shame in the context of cultural differences, recent events, and contemporary art, literature, and film. This is the first book to offer a comprehensive examination of this topic and, as such, will be a valuable resource for all clinicians who work with clients affected by grief and loss.

Author Biography

Jeffrey Kauffman, MA, MSS, FT, is a psychotherapist in private practice in suburban Philadelphia. His previous books include Guidebook for Helping Persons with Mental Retardation Mourn, Awareness of Mortality and Loss of the Assumptive World.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Speaking of Shame	p. vii
About the Editor	p. xiii
About the Contributors	p. xv
Introductory Essay
On the Primacy of Shame	p. 3
A Personal Narrative
Side by Side	p. 25
Psychological Reflections on Shame and Grief
Between Shame, Death, and Mourning: The Predispositional Role of Early Attachments and the Sense of Self	p. 33
Combat, Combat Stress Injuries, and Shame	p. 59
Healing the Narcissistic Injury of Death in the Context of Western Society	p. 75
Shame: A Hospice Worker's Reflections	p. 87
Cultural Differences
Shame and Death in Cultural Context	p. 113
Languages of Art
Mask of Shame, Mask of Death: Some Speculations on the Shame of Death	p. 141
Using the Representation of Grief and Shame in Contemporary Literature and Film to Train Mental Health Professionals	p. 155
Social Conscience and the Psychology of Shame
The Long Road to Relevance: Disability, Chronic Sorrow, and Shame	p. 171
Author Index	p. 199
Subject Index	p. 205
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