Continuing Bonds in Bereavement: New Directions for Research and Practice

379 Pages·2017·2.964 MB·English

by  Dennis Klass (editor), Edith Maria Steffen (editor)

CONTINUING BONDS IN
BEREAVEMENT
The introduction of the continuing bonds model of grief near the end of the
20th century revolutionized the way researchers and practitioners understand
bereavement. Continuing Bonds in Bereavement is the most comprehensive, state-of-
the-art collection of developments in this field since the inception of the model.
As a multi-perspectival, nuanced, and forward-looking anthology, it combines
innovations in clinical practice with theoretical and empirical advancements. The
text traces grief in different cultural settings, asking questions about the truth in
our interactions with the dead and showing how new cultural developments like
social media change the ways we relate to those who have died. Together, the
book’s four sections encourage practitioners and scholars in both bereavement
studies and in other fields to broaden their understanding of the concept of
continuing bonds.
Dennis Klass, PhD, is on the editorial boards of Death Studies and Omega: Journal
of Death and Dying and is professor emeritus at Webster University in St. Louis,
Missouri. He is the author of The Spiritual Lives of Bereaved Parents, coauthor of
Dead but Not Lost: Grief Narratives in Religious Traditions, and coeditor of Continuing
Bonds: New Understandings of Grief. A licensed psychologist, he has been active in
the study of death, dying, and bereavement since 1968.
Edith Maria Steffen, PsychD, is a lecturer in counseling psychology at the
University of Roehampton, London, UK. Her research focuses on sense of pres-
ence experiences in bereavement and meaning-oriented group grief therapy. She
has published articles in journals such as Death Studies, Omega: Journal of Death
and Dying, and Mental Health, Religion & Culture, and has contributed a number of
chapters to anthologies.
THE SERIES IN DEATH, DYING,
AND BEREAVEMENT
Robert A. Neimeyer and Darcy L. Harris, Series Editors
For a complete list of all books in this series, please visit the series page at: https://
www.routledge.com/series/SE0620
Techniques of Grief Therapy: Assessment and Intervention, edited by Robert A.
Neimeyer
Dealing With Dying, Death, and Grief During Adolescence, by David E. Balk
Bereavement Care for Families, edited by David W. Kissane and Francine Parnes
Grief and the Expressive Arts: Practices for Creating Meaning, edited by Barbara E.
Thompson and Robert A. Neimeyer
Techniques of Grief Therapy: Creative Practices for Counseling the Bereaved, edited by
Robert A. Neimeyer
Working with the Bereaved: Multiple Lenses on Loss and Mourning, by Simon
Shimshon Rubin, Ruth Malkinson, and Eliezer Witztum
Helping Grieving People—When Tears Are Not Enough: A Handbook for Care
Providers, 2nd Edition, by J. Shep Jeffreys
Grief and Bereavement in Contemporary Society: Bridging Research and Practice, edited
by Robert A. Neimeyer, Darcy L. Harris, Howard R. Winokuer, and Gordon
F. Thornton
Counting Our Losses: Reflecting on Change, Loss, and Transition in Everyday Life,
edited by Darcy L. Harris
CONTINUING BONDS
IN BEREAVEMENT
New Directions for Research
and Practice
Edited by Dennis Klass and
Edith Maria Steffen
First edition published 2018
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
 2018 Dennis Klass and Edith Maria Steffen
The right of the editors to be identified as the authors of the editorial
material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted
in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Klass, Dennis, editor. | Steffen, Edith, editor.
Title: Continuing bonds in bereavement : new directions for research and
practice / edited by Dennis Klass, Edith Steffen.
Description: New York, NY : Routledge, 2018. | Series: Death, dying, and
bereavement | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017026244| ISBN 9780415356190
(hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780415356206 (pbk. : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781315202396 (e-book)
Subjects: LCSH: Grief. | Bereavement—Psychological aspects. |
Attachment behavior.
Classification: LCC BF575.G7 C669 2017 | DDC 155.9/37—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017026244
ISBN: 978-0-415-35619-0 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-415-35620-6 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-20239-6 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon, UK
IN MEMORY OF
PHYLLIS ROLFE SILVERMAN
JULY 10, 1927–JUNE 10, 2016
WHO INITIATED THE CONVERSATION
THAT CONTINUES IN THIS BOOK

CONTENTS
Series Foreword xi
Robert A. Neimeyer
Prologue: A Personal History xiii
Dennis Klass
Contributors xx
1 Introduction: Continuing Bonds—20 Years On 1
Dennis Klass and Edith Maria Steffen
SECTION I
Overview of the Continuing Bonds Model 15
2 The Two-Track Model of Bereavement and
Continuing Bonds 17
Simon Shimshon Rubin, Ruth Malkinson, and
Eliezer Witztum
3 Posttraumatic Growth and Continuing Bonds 31
Richard Tedeschi, Ana I. Orejuela-Dávila, and Paisley Lewis
4 How Continuing Bonds Have Been Framed
Across Millennia 43
Tony Walter
vii
Contents
5 Continuing Bonds, Authorship, and American
Cultural History 56
Harold K. Bush
SECTION II
Continuing Bonds and Clinical Contexts 69
SUBSECTION II.1
Innovations for Working with Continuing Bonds 71
6 Reconstructing the Continuing Bond: A Case Study
in Grief Therapy 73
Robert A. Neimeyer and An Hooghe
7 Remembering Relations Across the Years and the Miles 99
Lorraine Hedtke
8 Working with Continuing Bonds from an Attachment
Theoretical Perspective 112
Phyllis S. Kosminsky
9 Externalized and Internalized Continuing Bonds in
Understanding Grief 129
Samuel M.Y. Ho and Ide S.F. Chan
10 Forgiveness and Continuing Bonds 139
Elizabeth A. Gassin
11 Reaching the Unspoken Grief: Continuing Parental
Bonds During Pregnancy Loss 150
Bobo H.P. Lau, Candy H.C. Fong, and
Celia H.Y. Chan
SUBSECTION II.2
Specific Perspectives for Working with Sense
of Presence 161
12 Working with Welcome and Unwelcome
Presence in Grief 163
Jacqueline Hayes and Edith Maria Steffen
viii
Contents
13 The Potential Therapeutic Efficacy of Assisted
After-Death Communication 176
Julie Beischel, Chad Mosher, and Mark Boccuzzi
SECTION III
The Truth Status and Reality Status of Continuing Bonds 189
14 Ontological Flooding and Continuing Bonds 191
Jack Hunter
15 Considering Anomalous Events During Bereavement
as Evidence for Survival 201
Callum E. Cooper
16 Grief, Ritual and Experiential Knowledge:
A Philosophical Perspective 214
Anastasia Philippa Scrutton
SECTION IV
Continuing Bonds in Cultural Contexts 227
SUBSECTION IV.1
Continuing Bonds’ Complex Roles in Cultures 229
17 Identity and Continuing Bonds in Cross-Cultural
Perspective: Britain and Japan 231
Christine Valentine
18 Evolving Roles in Research Exploring Communication
About Grief: Meaning Making and Continuing Bonds 246
Michael Robert Dennis and Adrianne Kunkel
19 Ancient Mesopotamian Remembrance and the
Family Dead 262
Renata MacDougal
20 Continuing Bonds as a Double-Edged Sword
in Bereavement? 276
Candy H.C. Fong and Amy Y.M. Chow
ix