BMS Grief and Bereavement Counseling 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which theorist introduced the concept of 'continuing bonds' as a healthy aspect of grief, challenging earlier views that detachment from the deceased is necessary?
- Elisabeth Kübler-Ross
- William Worden
- Dennis Klass (Correct answer)
- Colin Murray Parkes
Correct answer: Dennis Klass
Dennis Klass and colleagues challenged the detachment model by showing that maintaining an ongoing inner relationship with the deceased can be a healthy part of grief.
Question 2: A widow reports feeling her late husband's presence in the room and briefly hearing his voice. The funeral director counseling her should:
- Refer her immediately for psychiatric evaluation
- Normalize this as a common grief experience called post-death contact (Correct answer)
- Discourage discussion to avoid reinforcing the experience
- Document it as a potential mental health crisis
Correct answer: Normalize this as a common grief experience called post-death contact
Post-death contact phenomena (sensing, hearing, or seeing the deceased) are common and generally considered a normal grief experience, not a psychiatric symptom.
Question 3: In Stroebe and Schut's Dual Process Model, 'restoration orientation' refers to:
- Focusing on the pain of loss and processing grief emotions
- Attending to life changes and developing a new identity after loss (Correct answer)
- Restoring the body of the deceased to a natural appearance
- Returning to pre-loss psychological baseline
Correct answer: Attending to life changes and developing a new identity after loss
Restoration orientation involves attending to secondary stressors of bereavement such as taking on new roles, forming a new identity, and adjusting to life without the deceased.
Question 4: Which factor most strongly predicts complicated grief (prolonged grief disorder) following bereavement?
- The bereaved person's age at time of loss
- A sudden or traumatic mode of death (Correct answer)
- The geographical distance from the deceased at time of death
- Whether the bereaved attended the funeral
Correct answer: A sudden or traumatic mode of death
Traumatic or sudden deaths (homicide, suicide, accidents) significantly elevate the risk of complicated grief due to the shock, trauma, and lack of anticipatory grieving.
Question 5: The DSM-5-TR includes Prolonged Grief Disorder as a diagnosis. The required duration of grief symptoms before this diagnosis can be made is:
- 3 months after bereavement
- 6 months after bereavement
- 12 months after bereavement (Correct answer)
- 24 months after bereavement
Correct answer: 12 months after bereavement
Prolonged Grief Disorder in DSM-5-TR requires that symptoms persist for at least 12 months after the death of a close person (6 months for children).
Question 6: When a funeral director is supporting a bereaved family from a culture that practices loud, expressive wailing as part of mourning, the appropriate response is to:
- Gently redirect the family to quieter expressions of grief
- Recognize this as a culturally normative grief expression and accommodate it (Correct answer)
- Suggest grief counseling to address the intensity of the reaction
- Limit the number of mourners present to manage the environment
Correct answer: Recognize this as a culturally normative grief expression and accommodate it
Grief expression is culturally shaped, and many cultures value expressive mourning; funeral professionals must respect diverse mourning practices without pathologizing them.
Question 7: Which type of loss is considered a 'disenfranchised grief' because it is often not publicly acknowledged or socially supported?
- Death of a spouse after 40 years of marriage
- Death of a parent from a terminal illness
- Death of a pet that served as the primary companion (Correct answer)
- Death of a sibling in a car accident
Correct answer: Death of a pet that served as the primary companion
Pet loss is a classic example of disenfranchised grief—the depth of the loss is often minimized by society, leaving the bereaved without social permission to mourn openly.
BMS Grief and Bereavement Counseling 2
Which theorist introduced the concept of 'continuing bonds' as a healthy aspect of grief, challenging earlier views that detachment from the deceased is necessary?