The Restorative Nature of Ongoing Connections with the Deceased

The Restorative Nature of Ongoing Connections with the Deceased is a guide to stimulating thought and discussion about ongoing attachments between bereaved individuals and their deceased loved ones. Chapters promote broad, inclusive training and dialogue for working with clients who establish and/or maintain a restorative connection with their deceased loved one as well as those who find aspects of such connections to be psychologically or spiritually problematic or troublesome. Bereavement professionals will come away from this book with a better understanding and a deeper skillset for helping clients to develop continuing bonds.

Laurie A. Burke, PhD, is a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in traumatic loss, complicated grief, and spiritual crisis following loss. She developed the Inventory of Complicated Spiritual Grief 2.0. Edward (Ted) Rynearson, MD, is a clinical psychiatrist and researcher in Seattle, Washington, and author of two books, Retelling Violent Death and Violent Death: Resilience and Intervention Beyond the Crisis.

Section I: Faith Tradition Perspectives 1. Faith Traditions: A Historical and Contemporary Framework 2. Buddhist and Attachment Perspectives on the End of Life 3. A Shamanic Experience of Restoration: Journeying, Ritual, and Ceremony 4. A Christian Way of Making Sense of Life and Death 5. Forming Paths of Continuing Connection from a Jewish Perspective 6. Connecting through the Heart with the Deceased: A Muslim View 7. Eternal Bond with the Deceased: A Hindu Perspective Section II: Clinical Implications 8. Restorative Internalization 9. From Retelling to Reintegration: Narrative Fixation and the Reconstruction of Meaning 10. Grieving in the Wind Telephone Booth 11. Limitations of Traumatic Grief Therapy: The Palliative Embrace of a Homicidal Dying Section III: Research Considerations 12. Sensory and Quasi-Sensory Experiences of the Deceased in Bereavement: An Overview of the Literature 13. Internet Resources for the Bereaved: Facebook's Influence on the Grieving Process 14. Complicated Spiritual Grief: Wrestling with Faith in the Wake of Loss 15. Psychic Mediums for the Bereaved: Exploring Their Procedures and Contemplating the Use of Their Services Section IV: Existential Experiences 16. Restorative Connection with the Deceased: A Panel Interview with Grievers 17. To Seek or Not Seek Contact with the Deceased Through a Medium: A Panel Interview with Grievers 18. Presence within Absence: Summary Discussion