Describe two models of understanding the grief process. How would you incorporate them into your work with families of a recently deceased client?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Two models include the stage model developed by Bowlby and the task based model developed by Worden.

Bowlby stages include:

Stages of shock and may be unable to understand the meaning of the death; yearning to reconnect with the deceased; disorganization and despair; reorganization. The social worker can incorporate knowledge of these stages and the client’s progression or regression in the experience of each. It is important to try and normalize the client’s reactions However, it is important to note that the stages may be indistinct from each other and it is more important to understand the client’s affective and behavioral responses as art of the grief process.

Worden tasks include:

Social workers could incorporate the tasks described by Worden by normalizing the feelings and thoughts the person has at the moment. Worden’s tasks can be described in a way that helps clients feel they are “doing” something as opposed to drowning in grief. The tasks include accepting the death; working through (embracing) the physical and emotional pain created by the death (giving the person time to emote and recognize the connection of symptoms to grief; adjusting to a world without the person; finally, finding a way to establish an enduring connection to the deceased while living a life without him/her, yet permitting the memory of the person to be sustained.

Both models can be effective frameworks for the social worker to understand the reactions and tailor responses to the bereaved. In neither model should there be an expectation the person will get through all of the stages or tasks in a linear fashion within a particular time frame.