Directed journaling to facilitate meaning-making Book Section

  


Authors: Lichtenthal, Wendy G.; Neimeyer, Robert A
Editor: Neimeyer, R. A.
Article/Chapter Title: Directed journaling to facilitate meaning-making
Abstract: (from the chapter) This intervention is indicated for clients who are having difficulty making meaning of their loss, but who have expressed at various junctures aspects of their sense-making or benefit-finding processes in session. Benefit journaling is contraindicated for individuals who (1) are still experiencing intense acute grief symptoms for whom contemplation of positive consequences associated with the loss may appear offensive; and (2) have not revealed any consequences that could be construed as positive in the therapist's judgment. Many clients naturally use journaling as an expressive outlet, but it is unclear whether all such forms of writing are beneficial. However, controlled research has demonstrated the utility of guiding the writing process with clients who are struggling to find meaning in their loss or in their lives in its aftermath. Writing can facilitate creation of an adaptive, coherent narrative about how the loss of a loved one fits into the larger scheme of the writer's life and worldview. The written piece can then become a resource for reflection that reinforces the meaning made at the time of writing and further stimulates the ever-dynamic meaning-making process. In a phrase, reflective writing can help us make sense of a world that doesn't. While no panacea for the pain of separation, it can help grievers find significance and reorientation in a life that has been challenged by loss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).
Keywords: psychotherapy; grief; meaning making; bereaved clients; directed journaling
Book Title: Techniques of Grief Therapy: Creative Practices for Counseling the Bereaved
ISBN: 978-0-415-80725-8
Publisher: Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group Us  
Publication Place: New York, NY
Date Published: 2012-01-01
Start Page: 165
End Page: 168
Language: English
ACCESSION: Book: 2012-14157-042
PROVIDER: Ovid Technologies
PROVIDER: psycinfo
DOI/URL:

http://ovidsp.ovid.com/ovidweb.cgi?T=JS&CSC=Y&NEWS=N&PAGE=fulltext&D=psyc8&AN=2012-14157-042
Notes: --- -Book Chapter: 42 - Neimeyer, Robert A [Ed - xx, 388 - "Source: PsycINFO"