CT CT Legacy & Meaning-Making 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: According to Neimeyer, what is the central challenge of bereavement?
- Accepting the reality of death immediately
- Reconstructing a sense of meaning in a world without the deceased (Correct answer)
- Avoiding rumination about the loss
- Completing tasks of mourning within a set timeline
Correct answer: Reconstructing a sense of meaning in a world without the deceased
Neimeyer views grief as fundamentally a process of meaning reconstruction in which survivors rebuild their shattered assumptive world.
Question 2: Which of the following is an example of a continuing bond with the deceased?
- Refusing to speak about the person who died
- Talking to the deceased or keeping meaningful objects as inner connections (Correct answer)
- Avoiding all reminders of the deceased
- Moving quickly into new romantic relationships
Correct answer: Talking to the deceased or keeping meaningful objects as inner connections
Continuing bonds include practices like talking to the deceased, keeping meaningful possessions, or feeling an ongoing sense of their presence.
Question 3: Janoff-Bulman's 'assumptive world' theory holds that traumatic loss can shatter which core beliefs?
- Beliefs about financial security, legal rights, and career success
- Beliefs about the world being benevolent, meaningful, and the self being worthy (Correct answer)
- Beliefs about medical care and healthcare access
- Beliefs about the afterlife and religious doctrine
Correct answer: Beliefs about the world being benevolent, meaningful, and the self being worthy
Janoff-Bulman identified three core shattered assumptions: that the world is benevolent, that the world is meaningful, and that the self is worthy.
Question 4: A thanatologist using narrative therapy in grief work would primarily:
- Prescribe medication to manage grief symptoms
- Help the bereaved re-author their story of loss to find new meaning and agency (Correct answer)
- Guide clients through stages of grief in strict sequence
- Focus exclusively on behavioral symptom reduction
Correct answer: Help the bereaved re-author their story of loss to find new meaning and agency
Narrative therapy helps bereaved individuals re-story their experience of loss, finding new meaning and a sense of authorship in their continuing life.
Question 5: The 'dual process model' of coping with bereavement (Stroebe & Schut) describes oscillation between:
- Denial and acceptance
- Loss-oriented coping and restoration-oriented coping (Correct answer)
- Crying and not crying
- Anger and bargaining
Correct answer: Loss-oriented coping and restoration-oriented coping
Stroebe and Schut's dual process model describes healthy grieving as moving back and forth between loss-oriented coping (grief work) and restoration-oriented coping (adapting to new roles).
Question 6: Which approach best describes 'meaning-centered grief therapy'?
- Helping clients avoid painful memories of the deceased
- Assisting clients in finding sources of meaning, purpose, and legacy after loss (Correct answer)
- Teaching relaxation techniques to manage somatic grief symptoms
- Focusing only on behavioral activation and scheduling
Correct answer: Assisting clients in finding sources of meaning, purpose, and legacy after loss
Meaning-centered grief therapy helps bereaved individuals identify and connect with sources of meaning, purpose, and legacy in the aftermath of loss.
CT CT Legacy & Meaning-Making 2
According to Neimeyer, what is the central challenge of bereavement?