Grief Counseling Techniques Flashcards

A widow tells her counselor she alternates between sorting her husband's belongings and spending days focused on learning to manage the household finances. Which model best explains this pattern as healthy?

Answer: Dual Process Model of Coping

Stroebe and Schut's Dual Process Model describes healthy oscillation between loss-oriented and restoration-oriented coping.

In Worden's task model, which task involves forming an enduring connection with the deceased while embarking on a new life?

Answer: Find an enduring connection with the deceased

Worden's fourth task (revised) is to find an enduring connection with the deceased while embarking on a new life.

A counselor asks a bereaved client to speak directly to an empty chair as if the deceased were sitting in it. This technique originates from which therapeutic approach?

Answer: Gestalt therapy

The empty chair technique comes from Gestalt therapy and helps clients address unfinished business.

Which counseling technique most directly supports Neimeyer's meaning reconstruction approach?

Answer: Encouraging the client to tell and re-story the narrative of the loss

Meaning reconstruction centers on helping clients make sense of the loss through narrative and re-authoring their life story.

A client says, 'I keep his old sweater on my pillow.' According to Volkan, this item would best be described as a:

Answer: Linking object

Volkan described linking objects as possessions that symbolically connect the mourner to the deceased.

Which statement best reflects current guidance on using Kübler-Ross's stages in grief counseling?

Answer: The stages describe common reactions but are not linear or universal

Research does not support a fixed stage sequence, so counselors use the stages loosely as descriptors of possible reactions.

When a grieving client becomes tearful and falls silent, the most therapeutic counselor response is usually to:

Answer: Remain present and allow the silence

Allowing silence communicates acceptance and gives the client space to process emotions.