Wednesday, February 01, 2012
A resource a month over 2011 and into 2012
1.Neimeyer RA, Harris DA, Winokuer HR, Thornton GF (eds)
Grief and bereavement in contemporary society. Bridging research and practice
Routledge 2011
This book has contributions from 60 eminent writers (both clinicians and researchers) on grief and bereavement from 10 countries around the world.
It is has 31 chapters and is divided into 6 main sections – current conceptualisations of the grief process, contexts of grieving, challenges in bereavement, specific populations, specialised treatment modalities, grief in a global perspective. If you have read widely on bereavement issues, you will recognise many of the authors. If you have not, you will be introduced to a wide variety of contemporary perspectives. I have dipped into a number of chapters and I was especially struck by the chapter on “The remedy is not working” – seeking just and culturally conscientious practices in bereavement by Valarie Molaison et al. It describes and comments on the issue of death and grieving in a case study of a young African-American youth in a poor inner city area in the United States. It was challenging, engaging and sad. One would like to know how the young man viewed his counselling many years on. Does he even remember it? – or will the experience be of any use to him sometime in his future?
2.Wimpenny P, Costello J (eds)
Grief loss and bereavement. Evidence and practice for health and social care practitioners.
Routledge 2012
This book also has a broad remit though it is aimed at practitioners to a greater extent and most of the contributors are working in Scotland, either as practitioners or as researchers. It has sixteen chapters and is divided into 3 parts – 1) bereavement across the life span 2) contexts of bereavement and 3) education interventions and organisation of bereavement care. The context of bereavement section covers topics such as bereavement in primary care, perinatal bereavement, bereavement in care homes and bereavement and occupational health. There is an interesting array of figures, tables and boxes (26 in all) that summarise key concepts in current thinking on bereavement issues. It is a book aimed at specialists in bereavement work but also at health and social care professionals who need to further their understanding of bereavement issues in the context of their overall work. A poem by a poet based in Scotland called The dead is on the introductory page and it can be viewed on the poet’s website:
http://www.pauline-prior-pitt.com/poems.html
3.Wicks Robert J
The resilient clinician
Oxford University Press 2008
This is not newly published, nor is it specifically on bereavement. However, it is for counsellors and any professional involved in working closely with people who need help with emotional problems. It is written by a psychotherapist and the essence of the book is about how clinicians care for and know themselves so that they can continue to have the “space” to offer to others. It enables one to assess the extent to which one is currently reacting to stress in dealing with one’s clients. The first three chapters provide some idea of the approach: Sensing the dangers - chronic and acute secondary stress: Enhancing resiliency - strengthening one’s own self-care protocol: Replenishing the self-solitude, silence and mindfulness. The author places great emphasis on daily debriefing and concludes with some questions to aid reflection.
I especially liked one quote, reputedly from the Russian playwright (and doctor) Anton Chechov “Any idiot can face a crisis – it’s the day to day living that wears you out”.
4. Bereavement Care. A recent issue focussed on evaluation of
bereavement services – below are key references from this issue
(2011 volume 30 no1)
SCHUT HENK STROEBE MARGARET
Challenges in evaluating adult bereavement services p5-9
ROLLS LIZ
Challenges in evaluating childhood bereavement services p10-15
NEWSOM C
Practitioners and researchers working together in an intervention
efficacy study: A fine example of synergy p16-20
ROBERTS AMANDA MCGILLOWAY SINEAD
Methodological and ethical aspects of evaluation research in
bereavement: A reflection p21-28
TRICKEY DAVID NUGUS DANNY
Evaluation of a therapeutic residential intervention for
traumatically bereaved children and young people p29-36
MCGUINESS BREFFNI FINUCANE NIAMH
Evaluating a creative arts bereavement support intervention:
innovation and rigour p37-42
Colin Murray Parkes, editor, has received (January 2012) the Sternberg Active Life Award from the Times newspaper.
5. The last posting referred to a literature review on bereavement published by the Department of Health in the UK. This was followed up by draft quality markers on spiritual and bereavement care
http://www.endoflifecareforadults.nhs.uk/assets/downloads/Draft_Spiritual_Support_and_Bereavement_Care_Quality_Markers.pdf
In November, the National Institute of Clinical Excellence in the UK published End of Life Care quality markers and there is a section on bereavement which refers to the above documents:
http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qualitystandards/endoflifecare/CareAfterDeathBereavementSupport.jsp
This represents the most up-to-date UK guidance on bereavement issues.
6. Leaflets for bereaved people.
The following is a list from the Irish Hospice Foundation. It is interesting to see one written in Polish and another on how to cope at Christmas (though that will not be needed for another year!)
http://www.hospice-foundation.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=124&Itemid=50
St Christopher’s has a wide range of leaflets available for patients, carers, families and bereaved people. There are six specifically on bereavement:
http://www.stchristophers.org.uk/patients/leaflets
7. I have come across a few items on the effect of losing a parent
in childhood in the last year. Here are the references;
BIANK NANCEE M WERNER-LIN ALLISON
Growing up with grief: Revisiting the death of a parent over the
life course
Omega 11 v63 no3 p271-290
FITZ JANE FINLAY ILORA
The burden of bereaved children in society. Paper delivered at
the Glasgow GAPC Conference, 2011
Wales Pall Care Strategy Impl Board 2011 22p
http://www.eapcnet.eu/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=5MdRLB--lc0%3D&tabid=752
PARSONS SAMANTHA CHILDHOOD WELLBEING RESEARCH CENTRE
Long-term impact of childhood bereavement: Preliminary analysis
of the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70)
https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/CWRC-00081-2011
London: CWRC 2011
PEARCE CAROLINE
Girl, interrupted: An exploration into the experience of grief
following the death of a mother in young women's narratives
Mortality 11 v16 no1 p35-53
TRACEY ANNE
Perpetual loss and pervasive grief: Daughters speak about the
death of their mother in childhood
BereaveCare 11 v30 no3 p17-24
8. Marshall F
Losing a parent. 2nd edition
Sheldon Press 2011
There are not many books for adults when their parents die. The book has 10
chapters and the ones that stand out as being especially pertinent to this
particular bereavement are: You and your dying parent: The abandoned child -
Inheritance – new possessions, new ideas: You and your remaining parent:
Getting on with your life. The author provides a variety of case studies, thus
capturing a range of experiences with which bereaved adult children
can identify. It is written in an accessible style and her last paragraph points
out that “ the lifting of grief is yet another kind of loss – you lose touch
with the emotions of grief that were a powerful link with your dead mother
or father and it is at this point that you begin to realise the value of your
experience in grief as the painful tribute paid to love.”
9. Agnew, A et al
Bereavement assessment practice in hospice settings: challenges
for palliative care social workers
British Journal of Social Work 2011 41 p111-130
A national survey, conducted in 2007, examined bereavement practice in
10 Marie Curie hospices across the UK. All hospices offered a bereavement
service but there was little standardisation across their sites. The study
highlighted ethical issues centred on documentation, user participation and
consent and found staff training was variable across the ten hospices. Some
of the differences are highlighted in various figures and tables. The findings
facilitated the development of a post-bereavement service model that was
implemented across Marie Curie Hospice Care. Although there are umbrella
hospice bodies in the UK, Marie Curie is one of the few hospice providers that
has a number of sites and this of course aids standardisation and is one
advantage of a large multi-site service.
10. Finally , a chapter worth noting. This is in a book edited by David Oliviere, Barbara Monroe and Sheila Payne, Death dying and social differences 2nd edition (Oxford University Press 2011). It is by Orla Keegan and is titled Bereavement – a world of difference(p207-204). This chapter succinctly describes different perspectives on bereavement, especially emphasising the concept of disenfranchised grief, the huge discrepancies in the idea of a good death across the world and the dilemmas associated with how best to support bereaved people. It has an extensive, interesting bibliography.
On 15 Februrary 2012 the Bereavement Research Forum will host their AGM and there are two interesting lectures as part of this event –a talk on Inherited genetic conditions and the implications for end of life care and bereavement by Professor Alison Metcalfe and Across generations of family members affected by Huntington’s Chorea by Professor Heather Skirton. Full details at
http://www.brforum.org.uk/2012/agm2012flyer.htm
Denise Brady St Christopher's Hospice library. Email. d.brady@stchristohers.org.uk
Grief and bereavement in contemporary society. Bridging research and practice
Routledge 2011
This book has contributions from 60 eminent writers (both clinicians and researchers) on grief and bereavement from 10 countries around the world.
It is has 31 chapters and is divided into 6 main sections – current conceptualisations of the grief process, contexts of grieving, challenges in bereavement, specific populations, specialised treatment modalities, grief in a global perspective. If you have read widely on bereavement issues, you will recognise many of the authors. If you have not, you will be introduced to a wide variety of contemporary perspectives. I have dipped into a number of chapters and I was especially struck by the chapter on “The remedy is not working” – seeking just and culturally conscientious practices in bereavement by Valarie Molaison et al. It describes and comments on the issue of death and grieving in a case study of a young African-American youth in a poor inner city area in the United States. It was challenging, engaging and sad. One would like to know how the young man viewed his counselling many years on. Does he even remember it? – or will the experience be of any use to him sometime in his future?
2.Wimpenny P, Costello J (eds)
Grief loss and bereavement. Evidence and practice for health and social care practitioners.
Routledge 2012
This book also has a broad remit though it is aimed at practitioners to a greater extent and most of the contributors are working in Scotland, either as practitioners or as researchers. It has sixteen chapters and is divided into 3 parts – 1) bereavement across the life span 2) contexts of bereavement and 3) education interventions and organisation of bereavement care. The context of bereavement section covers topics such as bereavement in primary care, perinatal bereavement, bereavement in care homes and bereavement and occupational health. There is an interesting array of figures, tables and boxes (26 in all) that summarise key concepts in current thinking on bereavement issues. It is a book aimed at specialists in bereavement work but also at health and social care professionals who need to further their understanding of bereavement issues in the context of their overall work. A poem by a poet based in Scotland called The dead is on the introductory page and it can be viewed on the poet’s website:
http://www.pauline-prior-pitt.com/poems.html
3.Wicks Robert J
The resilient clinician
Oxford University Press 2008
This is not newly published, nor is it specifically on bereavement. However, it is for counsellors and any professional involved in working closely with people who need help with emotional problems. It is written by a psychotherapist and the essence of the book is about how clinicians care for and know themselves so that they can continue to have the “space” to offer to others. It enables one to assess the extent to which one is currently reacting to stress in dealing with one’s clients. The first three chapters provide some idea of the approach: Sensing the dangers - chronic and acute secondary stress: Enhancing resiliency - strengthening one’s own self-care protocol: Replenishing the self-solitude, silence and mindfulness. The author places great emphasis on daily debriefing and concludes with some questions to aid reflection.
I especially liked one quote, reputedly from the Russian playwright (and doctor) Anton Chechov “Any idiot can face a crisis – it’s the day to day living that wears you out”.
4. Bereavement Care. A recent issue focussed on evaluation of
bereavement services – below are key references from this issue
(2011 volume 30 no1)
SCHUT HENK STROEBE MARGARET
Challenges in evaluating adult bereavement services p5-9
ROLLS LIZ
Challenges in evaluating childhood bereavement services p10-15
NEWSOM C
Practitioners and researchers working together in an intervention
efficacy study: A fine example of synergy p16-20
ROBERTS AMANDA MCGILLOWAY SINEAD
Methodological and ethical aspects of evaluation research in
bereavement: A reflection p21-28
TRICKEY DAVID NUGUS DANNY
Evaluation of a therapeutic residential intervention for
traumatically bereaved children and young people p29-36
MCGUINESS BREFFNI FINUCANE NIAMH
Evaluating a creative arts bereavement support intervention:
innovation and rigour p37-42
Colin Murray Parkes, editor, has received (January 2012) the Sternberg Active Life Award from the Times newspaper.
5. The last posting referred to a literature review on bereavement published by the Department of Health in the UK. This was followed up by draft quality markers on spiritual and bereavement care
http://www.endoflifecareforadults.nhs.uk/assets/downloads/Draft_Spiritual_Support_and_Bereavement_Care_Quality_Markers.pdf
In November, the National Institute of Clinical Excellence in the UK published End of Life Care quality markers and there is a section on bereavement which refers to the above documents:
http://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/qualitystandards/endoflifecare/CareAfterDeathBereavementSupport.jsp
This represents the most up-to-date UK guidance on bereavement issues.
6. Leaflets for bereaved people.
The following is a list from the Irish Hospice Foundation. It is interesting to see one written in Polish and another on how to cope at Christmas (though that will not be needed for another year!)
http://www.hospice-foundation.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=124&Itemid=50
St Christopher’s has a wide range of leaflets available for patients, carers, families and bereaved people. There are six specifically on bereavement:
http://www.stchristophers.org.uk/patients/leaflets
7. I have come across a few items on the effect of losing a parent
in childhood in the last year. Here are the references;
BIANK NANCEE M WERNER-LIN ALLISON
Growing up with grief: Revisiting the death of a parent over the
life course
Omega 11 v63 no3 p271-290
FITZ JANE FINLAY ILORA
The burden of bereaved children in society. Paper delivered at
the Glasgow GAPC Conference, 2011
Wales Pall Care Strategy Impl Board 2011 22p
http://www.eapcnet.eu/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=5MdRLB--lc0%3D&tabid=752
PARSONS SAMANTHA CHILDHOOD WELLBEING RESEARCH CENTRE
Long-term impact of childhood bereavement: Preliminary analysis
of the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70)
https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/CWRC-00081-2011
London: CWRC 2011
PEARCE CAROLINE
Girl, interrupted: An exploration into the experience of grief
following the death of a mother in young women's narratives
Mortality 11 v16 no1 p35-53
TRACEY ANNE
Perpetual loss and pervasive grief: Daughters speak about the
death of their mother in childhood
BereaveCare 11 v30 no3 p17-24
8. Marshall F
Losing a parent. 2nd edition
Sheldon Press 2011
There are not many books for adults when their parents die. The book has 10
chapters and the ones that stand out as being especially pertinent to this
particular bereavement are: You and your dying parent: The abandoned child -
Inheritance – new possessions, new ideas: You and your remaining parent:
Getting on with your life. The author provides a variety of case studies, thus
capturing a range of experiences with which bereaved adult children
can identify. It is written in an accessible style and her last paragraph points
out that “ the lifting of grief is yet another kind of loss – you lose touch
with the emotions of grief that were a powerful link with your dead mother
or father and it is at this point that you begin to realise the value of your
experience in grief as the painful tribute paid to love.”
9. Agnew, A et al
Bereavement assessment practice in hospice settings: challenges
for palliative care social workers
British Journal of Social Work 2011 41 p111-130
A national survey, conducted in 2007, examined bereavement practice in
10 Marie Curie hospices across the UK. All hospices offered a bereavement
service but there was little standardisation across their sites. The study
highlighted ethical issues centred on documentation, user participation and
consent and found staff training was variable across the ten hospices. Some
of the differences are highlighted in various figures and tables. The findings
facilitated the development of a post-bereavement service model that was
implemented across Marie Curie Hospice Care. Although there are umbrella
hospice bodies in the UK, Marie Curie is one of the few hospice providers that
has a number of sites and this of course aids standardisation and is one
advantage of a large multi-site service.
10. Finally , a chapter worth noting. This is in a book edited by David Oliviere, Barbara Monroe and Sheila Payne, Death dying and social differences 2nd edition (Oxford University Press 2011). It is by Orla Keegan and is titled Bereavement – a world of difference(p207-204). This chapter succinctly describes different perspectives on bereavement, especially emphasising the concept of disenfranchised grief, the huge discrepancies in the idea of a good death across the world and the dilemmas associated with how best to support bereaved people. It has an extensive, interesting bibliography.
On 15 Februrary 2012 the Bereavement Research Forum will host their AGM and there are two interesting lectures as part of this event –a talk on Inherited genetic conditions and the implications for end of life care and bereavement by Professor Alison Metcalfe and Across generations of family members affected by Huntington’s Chorea by Professor Heather Skirton. Full details at
http://www.brforum.org.uk/2012/agm2012flyer.htm
Denise Brady St Christopher's Hospice library. Email. d.brady@stchristohers.org.uk
