Life After Loss: Grief Recovery Group Counseling Through a Cultural Lens
Literature exploring culture specific grieving processes reveal that influential factors such as values, beliefs, health status, and spirituality shape grief reactions, especially for African Americans (Rosenblatt & Wallace, 2005). Further, the historical social injustices that determine opportunities and access to resources impact the ways in which African Americans grieve and perceive loss. Stress related to bereavement can manifest into complicated grief, posttraumatic stress disorder, and major depressive disorder; thus, greater understanding of how people of color recover should be examined. The session will provide an overview of a program evaluation uncovering prevalent themes that surfaced from shared experiences of loss among African Americans adults in a six-week, grief recovery therapeutic group conducted in an urban community healthcare setting. Upon attending this conference session participants will gain greater awareness around: (a) components of grief and loss group counseling that are meaningful to recovery (b) how bereaved African Americans cope with loss (c) how culture, ethnicity, or gender affect the grief recovery process d) clinical application in a community group setting. Due to the lack of research around the phenomenon of grief among African Americans, the presenter hopes to contribute to the literature and furthermore develop a framework for the clinical application of grief recovery group counseling with people of color.
Abstract
Grief is considered to be a universal phenomenon that accompanies the human experience; however, the expression and experience of grief can vary across gender, race/ethnicity, socio economic status, and geographic location. This session will uncover shared cultural themes, coping strategies, therapeutic techniques/interventions, and cross-cultural considerations that emerged from grief recovery group counseling with African American adults.
Life After Loss: Grief Recovery Group Counseling Through a Cultural Lens
Session Two Breakouts: Hampton C
Grief is considered to be a universal phenomenon that accompanies the human experience; however, the expression and experience of grief can vary across gender, race/ethnicity, socio economic status, and geographic location. This session will uncover shared cultural themes, coping strategies, therapeutic techniques/interventions, and cross-cultural considerations that emerged from grief recovery group counseling with African American adults.
