Expanding the constructs of grief and loss in capturing the human experience: Essential workers in the meatpacking industry and the pandemic.

Grief and Loss: Issues for Abortion

OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying ◽

10.2190/gaq4-g8vu-pw5m-am6h ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

pp. 241-247 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Idell Kesselman

Keyword(s):

Short Stories ◽

Master's Degree ◽

Human Experience ◽

Self Concept ◽

Grief And Loss ◽

Unresolved Grief ◽

Grief Therapy ◽

Master’S Degree ◽

Abortion Counseling ◽

Made In

I had my first abortion just after my seventeenth birthday; in 1966 abortions were legal only to save the mother's life. My parents took me to Mexico, under the guidance of their psychoanalyst. But we never talked about it. While we were gone our dog had puppies. It seemed a powerful irony-but we never talked about it. I had two more abortions years later, each linked to the ending of a marriage. I began to notice a pattern-but no one helped me talk about it. And so I wrote-vignettes, journals, poems, dreams, parts of short stories-never realizing that I was struggling with the unacknowledged, unresolved grief of three abortions, three deaths. Then in 1987 I took the class, “Death, Society, and Human Experience,” as part of my preparation for a master's degree in counseling. All of my fragmented, aborted efforts at writing came together: each vignette had been a part of my grieving. These writings finally helped me resolve my grief-over twenty years of it. I can't help but wonder what differences specific grief therapy might have made in my life-in 1966, in 1972, or in 1976. Whatever your position on the issue of abortion, we must acknowledge that at least one death occurs. In addition to the fetus, there is often the death of youth, of innocence, of dreams, of illusions. Grief therapy must be a part of any abortion counseling. Without a healthy resolution, the guilt and pain continue. For some, it becomes a numbness, a heaviness carried deep inside. For others, relationships, pregnancies, and self concept are affected.

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Addressing Grief and Loss through the Continuum of Care: A Focus on Patient Experiences and Professional Practices

Journal of Recovery Science ◽

10.31886/jors.12.2018.13 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 2

Author(s):

James M Ryan

Keyword(s):

Best Practices ◽

Addiction Treatment ◽

Continuum Of Care ◽

Human Experience ◽

Patient Experiences ◽

Professional Practices ◽

Grief And Loss ◽

Human Being ◽

Ultimate Objective ◽

The Continuum

Grief and loss are universal parts of the human experience. They are also some of the most profound experiences that a human being encounters in life. In addiction treatment, grief and loss must be addressed in order for an individual to successfully journey into recovery. In recovery, individuals must have the skills to cope with grief and loss to successfully maintain their sobriety when life happens. Integrated grief and loss is the ultimate objective. Treatment should focus on “stuck points” without pathologizing the individual’s experience. This presentation is the beginning of a discussion about best practices when addressing grief and loss in addiction treatment and the types of interventions that have proven most successful.

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