[Departmental Seminar] Intervening in Meaning: Working with Grief for Traumatic Loss

Viewed from a meaning-focused perspective, a central process in grieving is the attempt to reaffirm or reconstruct a world of meaning that has been challenged by loss. Whether we encounter such loss in the form of bereavement or in the wake of non-death losses, such as those arising from illness, injury, and interpersonal violence or violation, traumatic transitions of all kinds can leave grievers struggling to process the event story of what happened, to make sense of their changed identity in its wake, and to realign their relationship with relevant others in a way that restores their sense of secure attachment or resolves unfinished business.

In this session, we summarize the Tripartite Model of Meaning Reconstruction and its application to complex losses of people, projects, professions and protections that our clients had once counted on to navigate life. Brief clinical videos illustrate how such losses violate the core beliefs that sustain survivors’ assumptive world, prompting anguishing but essential review and revision of their life stories. We conclude by sketching diverse meaning-oriented practices that help people find growth through grief, providing a conceptual frame for therapeutic practice.

Learning Objectives

• Describe a meaning-focused roadmap to identify obstacles to adaptive grieving;
• Distinguish defining features of non-death losses that complicate their recognition and remediation;
• Summarize evidence that struggles in sense-making and violation of core beliefs mediate the impact of traumatic loss; and
• Identify three practices to facilitate meaning reconstruction in the context of working with grief.

How to Register?

Admission is free and seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration closes on 7 July 2023, Friday or once the seats are fully booked. We will be sending a confirmation email to all successful registrants closer to date.