Professionals' experience of grief counselling: implications for bridging the gap between research and practice

Authors

Lauren J. Breen, Edith Cowan UniversityFollow

Document Type

Journal Article

Faculty

Faculty of Computing, Health and Science

School

School of Psychology and Social Science / Social Justice Research Centre

RAS ID

13008

Comments

Breen, L. J. (2011). Professionals' experience of grief counselling: implications for bridging the gap between research and practice. Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, 62(3), 285-303. Available here

Abstract

Despite the escalating interest in grief interventions, there is a clear mis-alignment between contemporary grief research and grief counseling practices, and this disparity may limit intervention effectiveness. Semi-structured interviews with 19 grief counselors revealed their current practices of grief counseling. The counselors' descriptions of grief and their grief counseling practices were diverse and many were influenced by classic grief theories and the grief work hypothesis. The grief counselors described negotiating several issues and dilemmas in their work and provided recommendations for achieving greater exchange between research and practice. The findings have the potential to inform the delivery, efficacy, and relevance of grief counseling in Western Australia.

DOI

10.2190/OM.62.3.e

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