Grief and the Expressive Arts Practices for Creating Meaning [Paperback]

The use of the arts in psychotherapy is a burgeoning area of interest, particularly in the field of bereavement, where it is a staple intervention in hospice programs, childrens grief camps, specialized programs for trauma or combat exposure, work with bereaved parents, widowed elders or suicide survivors, and in many other contexts. But how should clinicians differentiate between the many different approaches and techniques, and what criteria should they use to decide which technique to useand when? Grief and the Expressive Arts provides the answers using a crisp, coherent structure that creates a conceptual and relational scaffold for an artistically inclined grief therapy. Each of the books brief chapters is accessible and clearly focused, conveying concrete methods and anchoring them in brief case studies, across a range of approaches featuring music, creative writing, visual arts, dance and movement, theatre and performance and multi-modal practices. Any clinicianexpressive arts therapist, grief counselor, or something in betweenlooking for a professionally oriented but scientifically informed book for guidance and inspiration need look no further than Grief and the Expressive Arts.

List of Figures and Tables  Foreword Sandra L. Bertman  Preface Robert A. Neimeyer and Barbara E. Thompson  List of Contributors  Part I: Building the Frame  1. Meaning Making and the Art of Grief Therapy Robert A. Neimeyer and Barbara E. Thompson  2.Poiesis, Praise And Lament: Celebration, Mourning And The Architecture Of Expressive Arts Therapy Stephen K. Levine  3. Art Therapy for Processing Childrens Traumatic Grief and Loss Eliana Gil  4. When the Gods Are Silent: The Spirit of Resilience and the Soul of Healing Michael Conforti  5. Expressive Tl.