Counselling for Grief and Bereavement

`The book provides an absorbing and challenging journey through the possible process involved in bereavement work, and encourages one to think broadly about how one can approach a bereaved person... this was a book I enjoyed reading very much, and which I found both theoretically sound and practically helpful' - Bereavement Care (Cruse)

Counselling for Grief and Bereavement, Second Edition is a bestselling, introductory guide for professionals who work with people experiencing bereavement through death and other forms of loss. Focusing on practical assessment and intervention strategies, Geraldine Humphrey and David Zimpfer guide readers through the essential theory and skills needed to work with clients in a way which sensitively facilitates the process of grief, initiates healing and promotes a sense of growth.

Setting out the broad principles for practice, the authors go on to show how these can be applied in working with individuals, families and groups and in relation to specific issues including chronic and life-threatening illnesses, palliative care and complicated grief. Carefully chosen case examples illustrate the counselling process, while specific attention is paid throughout to ethical considerations and the possible need for referral.

This fully revised and updated Second Edition features a new chapter on working with children and adolescents: both from the perspective of young people who are grieving losses and those who are receiving palliative care as patients. While focusing on the practical, the book provides a firm theoretical base by explaining key concepts such as attachment, grief and resilience.

Geraldine M. Humphrey is Counsellor in the Department of Psychology at the North Canton Medical Foundation, specializing in death, illnesses, and non-death and grief. David G. Zimpfer is former Director of the Cancer Center of Ohio.