Skip to main content

Bereavement in an Elderly Client: Making Sense and Finding Meaning

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Abstract

Losing a loved one can be a traumatic and devastating experience that places the bereaved at a heightened risk of psychological suffering and impairments in functioning. Demographics of the bereaved, relationship to the deceased, circumstances of death and culture are factors affecting the grief experience. The dual process model (DPM) is a model of coping with loss as opposed to one aimed at explaining the broad range of manifestations associated with bereavement. In this chapter, principles of intervention are derived from the DPM to aid in the understanding of grief, and techniques are drawn from existential therapy, person-centred therapy and postmodern approaches, to inform a culturally sensitive way of working with an elderly client.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • American Psychiatric Association. DSM-5 Task Force, & American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5 (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Choo, C. C., Harris, K. M., Chew, P. K., & Ho, R. C. (2017). Does ethnicity matter in risk and protective factors for suicide attempts and suicide lethality? PLoS One, 12(4), e0175752.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen-Mansfield, J., Shmotkin, D., Malkinson, R., Bartur, L., & Hazan, H. (2013). Parental bereavement increases mortality in older persons. Psychological Trauma Theory Research Practice and Policy, 5(1), 84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corey, G. (2013). Theory and practice of counseling and psychotherapy (9th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning, Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Currier, J. M., Holland, J. M., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2006). Sense-making, grief and the experience of violent loss: Toward a mediational model. Death Studies, 30, 403–428.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, C., Wortman, C. B., Lehman, D. R., & Cohen Silver, R. (2000). Searching for meaning in loss: Are clinical assumptions correct? Death Studies, 24, 497–540.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, C. G., Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Larson, J. (1998). Making sense of loss and benefiting from experience: Two construals of meaning. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 561–574.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dyregrov, K., Nordanger, D., & Dyregrov, A. (2003). Predictors of psychosocial distress after suicide, SIDS, and accidents. Death Studies, 27, 143–165.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ho, S. W., & Brotherson, S. E. (2007). Cultural influences on parental bereavement in Chinese families. OMEGA-Journal of Death and Dying, 55(1), 1–25.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kersting, A., Brähler, E., Glaesmer, H., & Wagner, B. (2011). Prevalence of complicated grief in a representative population-based sample. Journal of Affective Disorders, 131(1), 339–343.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lehman, D. R., Wortman, C. B., & Williams, A. F. (1987). Long-term effects of losing a spouse or child in a motor vehicle crash. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 218–231.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lobb, E. A., Kristjanson, L. J., Aoun, S. M., Monterosso, L., Halkett, G. K., & Davies, A. (2010). Predictors of complicated grief: A systematic review of empirical studies. Death Studies, 34(8), 673–698.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Malkinson, R., & Bar-Tur, L. (2005). Long term bereavement processes of older parents: The three phases of grief. Omega, 50, 103–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, S. A., Johnson, C. L., Chung, I. J., & Beaton, R. D. (2003a). The prevalence of PTSD following the violent death of a child and predictors of change 5 years later. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 16, 17–25.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy, S. A., Johnson, L. C., & Lohan, J. (2003b). Finding meaning in a child’s violent death: A five-year prospective analysis of parents’ personal narratives and empirical data. Death Studies, 27, 381–404.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Neimeyer, R. A. (2006). Complicated grief and the quest for meaning: A constructivist contribution. Omega, 52, 37–52.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, S. S., & Malkinson, R. (2001). Parental response to child loss across the life cycle: Clinical and research perspectives. In M. S. Stroebe, R. O. Hansson, W. Stroebe, & H. Schut (Eds.), Handbook of bereavement research (pp. 219–240). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shear, K., Frank, E., Houck, P., & Reynolds, C. (2005). Treatment of complicated grief: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Medical Association, 293, 2601–2608.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sidmore, K. V. (1999). Parental bereavement: Levels of grief as affected by gender issues. Omega, 40, 351–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stroebe, M. S., & Schut, H. (1999). The dual process model of coping with bereavement: Rationale and description. Death Studies, 23, 197–224.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stroebe, M., & Schut, H. (2008). The dual process model of coping with bereavement: Overview and update. Grief Matters: The Australian Journal of Grief and Bereavement, 11, 1–4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yick, A. G., & Gupta, R. (2002). Chinese cultural dimensions of death, dying, and bereavement: Focus group findings. Journal of Cultural Diversity, 9(2), 32.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zetumer, S., Young, I., Shear, M. K., Skritskaya, N., Lebowitz, B., Simon, N., … Zisook, S. (2015). The impact of losing a child on the clinical presentation of complicated grief. Journal of Affective Disorders, 170, 15–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2014.08.021

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zisook, S., & Kendler, K. S. (2007). Is bereavement-related depression different than non-bereavement-related depression? Psychological Medicine, 37(6), 779–794.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carol C Choo .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Lee, A., Choo, C.C. (2019). Bereavement in an Elderly Client: Making Sense and Finding Meaning. In: C Choo, C., C Ho, R. (eds) Clinical Psychology Casebook Across the Lifespan. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-7631-3_7

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics