Loss and Trauma

Coming Home by Catherine Gorey

by Feminism and Religion

Originally published in the Feminism and Religion project

It speaks to me often when I am in the midst of interior conflict roused by change, growth, transition, disappointment... more It speaks to me often when I am in the midst of interior conflict roused by change, growth, transition, disappointment etc. Each personal encounter causes a shift in my interior landscape which in turn requires me to find my center again. Sometimes the homecoming takes longer, depending on the cause of the axis shifting.

March 15th, 2012 will mark the 3 year anniversary of my mother’s death. A day that caused me much turmoil within and a life event from which I continue to search for my center. I would never have thought that this life event would shake me to the core as it did, causing me to question everything I ever thought to have known about my mother.

Trauma and Memory: The Impact of Apartheid-Era Forced Removals on Coloured Identity in Cape Town

by Henry Trotter

in Mohamed Adhikari (Ed.), Burdened by Race: Coloured Identities in Southern Africa (Cape Town: UCT Press, 2009), pp. 49-78

Communities often cohere around memories of historical suffering: yet coloured South Africans, a people whose diverse... more Communities often cohere around memories of historical suffering: yet coloured South Africans, a people whose diverse ancestry experienced enslavement, dispossession, genocidal extermination, and apartheid degradation, for the most part, they do not invest in remote historical traumas. Most coloured Capetonians instead focus upon a painful experience within living memory: the forced eviction of 150,000 coloured people from their homes and communities in the Cape Peninsula between 1957 and 1985 under the Group Areas Act. It is this experience that gives coloured identity vital resonance, especially amongst working class people, many of whom have yet to overcome the losses of that trauma.

Based on over one hundred life history interviews with coloured and African forced removees, this article examines the impact of Group Areas evictions on contemporary coloured identity. It suggests that, in the wake of mass social trauma, coloured removees coped with their pain by reminiscing with each other about the "good old days" in the destroyed communities. Their removal to racially defined townships ensured that they mainly shared their memories with other coloured people, and much less with African or Indian removees.

Apartheid social engineering to a large extent thus determined the spatial limits within which coloured memories circulated, creating a reflexive, mutually reinforcing pattern of narrative traffic. Over the past four decades, the constant circulation of these nostalgic stories has developed a "narrative community" amongst coloured people in the townships. This experience of popular sharing and support in the context of loss today gives coloured identity in Cape Town a dimension that would be lacking if it were only mobilized for political or economic purposes.

Exchange of Sacrifices: Symbolizing an Unpopular War in Post-Soviet Russia.

by Serguei Alex. Oushakine (Сергей Ушакин)

In: Fighting Words and Images: Representing War across the Disciplines. Ed. by Elena V. Baraban, Stephan Jaeger, and Adam Muller. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2012, pp. 185-208.

The Inner Representation of the Dead Child and the Worldviews of Bereaved Parents

by Dennis Klass

published in Omega, Journal of Death and Dying 26 (4), 1993.
Revised and published as:"The Deceased Child in the Psychic and Social Worlds of Bereaved Parents during the Resolution of Grief." In Dennis Klass, Phyllis Silverman, and Steven Nickman (Eds.), Continuing Bonds: New Understandings of Grief. Washington: Taylor & Francis, 1995.

Loneliness and Belonging: A Reflection on the Meanings and Values of Social Networks in the Wake of the Virginia Tech Shootings

by Curt Gervich

“Nothing really matters”: Emotional numbing as a link between trauma exposure and callousness in delinquent youth

by Stephen Becker

Patricia K. Kerig, Diana C. Bennett, Mamie Thompson, Stephen P. Becker.
Journal of Traumatic Stress.
doi: 10.1002/jts.21700

This study investigated the interrelations among trauma exposure, emotional numbing, and callous–unemotional traits in... more This study investigated the interrelations among trauma exposure, emotional numbing, and callous–unemotional traits in a sample of 276 youth (68 girls and 208 boys) recruited from 2 juvenile detention centers. Youth completed interview measures of trauma exposure and betrayal trauma, as well as self-report measures of emotional numbing and callous–unemotional traits. Results of path analyses using nonparametric bootstrapping procedures indicated findings consistent with the hypothesis that the association between trauma exposure and callous–unemotional traits was mediated by the general numbing of emotions, R2 = .40, and also specifically by numbing of sadness, R2 = .27. In addition, further analyses indicated that numbing of fear, R2 = .18, and sadness, R2 = .26, statistically mediated the relations to callous–unemotional traits only for those traumatic experiences involving betrayal. Gender was not found to moderate these effects.

Predictive Role of Hardiness on Psychological Symptomatology of University Students Experienced Earthquake

by Mithat Durak

Hardiness, perceived social support, coping styles, emotion-focused coping, problem-focused coping, stress, earthquake experience, psychological symptomatology, university students

The present study intended to investigate the role of stress and the predictive values of stress resistance factors on... more The present study intended to investigate the role of stress and the predictive values of stress resistance factors on psychological symptomatology and to examine the psychometric properties of Personal View Survey III-R (PVS III-R) in order to demonstrate the utility of the scale in Turkey. Predictive values of hardiness, perceived social support and coping styles were investigated on psychological symptomatology for different student samples formed on the basis of their earthquake experience level. Totally, 380 students from Middle East Technical University and Abant İzzet Baysal University participated in the present study. The subjects were given the Turkish version of Life Events Inventory for University Students (LEIU), Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), The Ways of Coping Inventory (WCI), Personal Views Survey III-R, and Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). The internal consistency and the concurrent validity of PVS III-R were satisfactory however the components of the scale were not differentiable according to the factor analysis. Hierarchical multiple regression analyzes confirmed the significant predictive value of stress resistance factors on symptomatology and the moderator role of hardiness in the relationship between stress and symptomatology. Also, hardiness had a significant predictive value beyond the stress level and other stress resistance factors for non-experienced earthquake students. On the other hand, the predictive strength of hardiness on symptomatology was not beyond stress and other stress resistance factors for the students who experienced earthquake. Emotion-focused coping and perceived social support predicted a significant portion of psychological symptomatology beyond the stress level and other variables for experienced earthquake students. The results demonstrated that hardiness seemed to be effective in predicting psychological symptomatology as well as stress, coping styles and perceived social support however its role might be questionable for traumatic events perceived as far beyond control. After discussion of the results in terms of theoretical and methodological perspectives, the limitations of the present study and the suggestions for future research were also handled.

Factors associated with posttraumatic growth among the spouses of myocardial infarction patients

by Mithat Durak

Key Words: cognitive processing, environmental factors, individual factors, myocardial infarction patients, posttraumatic growth, spouses of myocardial infarction patients

To clarify the rationale behind Posttraumatic Growth (PTG), a model by Schaefer and Moos describes the relative... more To clarify the rationale behind Posttraumatic Growth (PTG), a model by Schaefer and Moos describes the relative contribution of environmental resources, individual resources, event related factors, cognitive processing and coping (CPC) on PTG. In the present study, this model was tested with the spouses of myocardial infarction patients with data from various hospitals in Turkey. A structural equation model revealed that neither individual nor environmental resources had indirect effects on PTG through the effect of event-related factors and CPC, while they showed direct effects on PTG. The findings were discussed in the context of the theoretical model.

Factors Associated with Posttraumatic Growth Among Myocardial Infarction Patients: Perceived Social Support, Perception of the Event and Coping

by Mithat Durak

Key Words: Posttraumatic growth, Perceived social support, Perception of the event, Coping, Myocardial infarction patients

Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) is accepted as positive transformations that are a product of struggling with significant... more Posttraumatic Growth (PTG) is accepted as positive transformations that are a product of struggling with significant stressors such as chronic illness. A model, conceptualized by Schaefer and Moos (Posttraumatic growth: Positive changes in the aftermath of crisis, pp 99–126, 1998), suggests a relative contribution of environmental and individual resources, perception of the event (PE) and coping in the development of PTG. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of perceived social support (PSS), PE and coping on PTG. This model was tested in a sample of patients with myocardial infarction (MIP, N = 148) from various hospitals in Turkey. The structural equation analysis of the model revealed that PSS was significantly related to PTG through the effect of coping. While coping was significantly and directly related to PTG, PE was not. The findings are discussed in the context of the theoretical model with suggestions for future research.

Hellenism and Loss in the Work of Virginia Woolf

by Theodore Koulouris

"Jacques Derrida in Virginia Woolf: Death, Loss and Mourning in Jacob's Room"

by Theodore Koulouris

The essay will appear in the 2011 edition of Pacific Coast Philology (Vol:46, 2011, pp. 65-79)

In this essay, I offer a reading of Virginia Woolf’s Jacob’s Room (1922). I explore a number of derrida's concepts... more In this essay, I offer a reading of Virginia Woolf’s Jacob’s Room (1922). I explore a number of derrida's concepts such as “voice,” “unsuccessful mourning,” “signature” and “trace.” If you can't get hold of a copy through your library email me: T.Koulouris@brighton.ac.uk

The Practice of Cultivating Bodhichitta and Maranasati

by Jennifer R. Stevens

My purpose in researching this subject was multi-faceted.  I wanted to explore the Tibetan Buddhist perspective... more My purpose in researching this subject was multi-faceted.  I wanted to explore the Tibetan Buddhist perspective regarding the process of actual dying and the transfer of consciousness (Phowa), that is believed to occur following the death and I planned to investigate the rituals and meditations associated with their understanding of death.  I, also, hoped to discover how Buddhist thought can help supplement Western practices of end-of-life care, including the methods of training, the use of rituals, and the ways of offering support to those who companion the dying.  I hope to understand ways to implement Buddhist wisdom to deepen and enrich our lives and our dying in the West, especially if a patient is open to supplementing their own spiritual path with conscious dying.  Finally, I intended to suggest some areas where further inquiry might be of benefit to the field of psychology and to the practice of working with death and dying.

La fuerza de la fantasía o la historia de un fantasma andino

by Francisco A. Ortega

Pensamiento herido. Filosofía, ficciones e insistemas de sonido España-Colombia (Bogotá: Universidad Javeriana, 2008), pp. 90-122.

El fantasma comporta un estatuto dual al comienzo del siglo XXI: una evanescencia fascinante que, sin embargo,... more El fantasma comporta un estatuto dual al comienzo del siglo XXI: una evanescencia fascinante que, sin embargo, mantiene su capacidad perturbadora, aun cuando sólo haga uso de ella en ocasiones especiales. Me atrevo a sugerir que esa dualidad del fantasma contemporáneo está directamente relacionada con dos fenómenos. En primer lugar, la consagración a finales del siglo XVIII de la razón moderna a expensas de otros saberes, otras formas de conocer y otras posibles relaciones del saber con el poder. A partir de ese momento, se hace posible señalar ciertos saberes como producto de la superstición, el mito, la ignorancia; todos, la contracara oscura de la razón luminosa. No en vano durante una buena parte del siglo XVIII la razón victoriosa, optimista, se cree capaz de dominar los más íntimos secretos de la naturaleza y de expulsar los más terribles fantasmas de la historia.
En segundo lugar, aparece, sin embargo, la necesidad de reubicar las fuerzas inquietantes que acompañaban esos otros saberes, de encontrarles otros espacios menos amenazadores, de domesticarlos. Nacen los teatros de sombras, las cajas fantasmagóricas y otros espectáculos similares. El belga Etienne Gaspard Robert combinaba “experimentos ópticos […] y efectos de teatro para seducir a un público impresionable […] [y generar] un efecto macabro, terrorífico y fascinante a la vez” (en Roca, J. (c) 2007). Fantasmagoría que cada vez pierde más de lo terrible y gana en espectáculo, en muchos casos difiriendo su potencial inquietante. No obstante, como señalan Slavoj Zizek y Jacques Derrida, los desarrollos modernos en tecnologías y telecomunicaciones en vez de disminuir el ámbito de los fantasmas aumentan su poder y su capacidad de asediarnos. Tal vez por eso encuentran un hogar propicio en el cine y —quizá en los momentos más lúcidos, precisamente cuando no pierde su dimensión terrorífica— también en el arte y la literatura. No se explica de otro modo el que algún perturbado — y no lo digo en el sentido patológico, aunque también admite esa acepción— se acercara a los espejos de Óscar Muñoz, para borrar con sus manos los rostros crispados que llegan del más allá. Esto no es un acto ingenuo ni gratuito; al contrario, en un país donde la figura del ‘desaparecido’ constituye una devastadora inscripción rutinaria de lo espectral en lo social, el borrón sólo puede entenderse como una salida desesperada.

Rogers, C. (2009) ‘Hope as a mechanism in emotional survival: documenting miscarriage’

by Chrissie Rogers

It is well documented that one in five pregnancies end in miscarriage and yet it is often not discussed openly. Do... more It is well documented that one in five pregnancies end in miscarriage and yet it is often not discussed openly. Do people simply ‘get over’ these troubling times, or is the female body, especially when it comes to gynaecological issues too taboo? Talk of blood clots, foetuses, physical and emotional pain might make for difficult conversation, but still a woman alone with her body and mind, has no choice, but to live through it (even if she has a fully supportive partner). In documenting reality, a tragic twin miscarriage at 12 weeks; it seems hope is one way out of despair. A personal narrative around dashed dreams, pain and grief, embedded in pockets of hope, the author attempts to understand and come to terms with the immediate experiences of a miscarriage. Are the immediate experiences too short to document, or too painful to recount? In thinking through intangible dalliances with Tarot cards as hooks of hope and reciting the Lord’s Prayer in the darkest moments; a sociology of hope might be able to answer some questions in how the human being lives through tragedy.

“Losing Things Was Nothing New”: A Family's Stories of Foreclosure

by Andrew Herrmann

Herrmann, A. F. (2011). “Losing things was nothing new”: A family’s story of foreclosure. Journal of Loss & Trauma, 16, 497-510.

Although personal bankruptcies and foreclosures have always been common, in Western culture people do not often share... more Although personal bankruptcies and foreclosures have always been common, in Western culture people do not often share these stories. In this article, I briefly examine the literature surrounding, narrative “stories on the margin,” and disenfranchised grief. I then present my family members’ stories surrounding the loss of our home in 1991 through foreclosure. Following these stories, I examine how disenfranchised grief –
through the lack of culturally sanctioned stories of loss – can lead to silence. Finally, I substantiate why eliciting noncanonical economic narratives are personally and collectively beneficial for research on grief and loss.

Harnessing the power of metaphors in group-work with bereaved families

by Eleanor Pardess

Belief Systems as Coping Factors in Traumatized Refugees: A Prospective Study

by Francisco José Eiroa Orosa

Healing the Pain of Grief

by Daniel Keeran MSW

by Daniel Keeran, MSW, RMHC-S

GRIEF COUNSELING THEORY AND SKILLS COURSE ONLINE

In this practical online course you will learn what to say to help someone who is grieving and needs healing to move forward in life. The course text and assignments are included in tuition and are sent to you immediately as a PDF attached email file with a hard copy sent by regular mail. To Register visit http://www.counseling-skills.com

This article is an excerpt from the chapter entitled “Grief Counseling Skills” in Effective Counseling Skills: the... more This article is an excerpt from the chapter entitled “Grief Counseling Skills” in Effective Counseling Skills: the practical wording of therapeutic statements and processes. More practical skills are found in the following press release http://prlog.org/11645786

Daniel Keeran, MSW, has been a professional counselor and therapist for over 30 years. He has provided counseling and training to thousands of professionals and the public through his private practice, seminars, and online training courses.

To order the best-selling training manual "Effective Counseling Skills" go to http://www.amazon.com/Effective-Counseling-Skills-therapeutic-statements/dp/1442177993

A Melancholy Optimist (full text, Croatian)

by Anja Ivekovic-Martinis

Essay on Philippine director Lav Diaz's film "Melancholia", published on the website of the 7th Human Rights Film Festival, Zagreb

Effective Counseling Skills: the practical wording of therapeutic statements and processes

by Daniel Keeran MSW

by Daniel Keeran, MSW, RMHC-S

Also used as a counselor training and examination manual, this book gives away the secrets of effective counselors and... more Also used as a counselor training and examination manual, this book gives away the secrets of effective counselors and therapists. The practical skills and concepts distilled in the present form, are the contributions of countless colleagues and clients who over the years have challenged the creative energies of the author. Effective Counseling Skills is designed to achieve the primary purpose of making counseling skills public knowledge in the belief that the health of society is improved when counseling is known to the most people. The style of the manual is conversational with numerous examples of the wording of therapeutic statements.

Major topic areas include an explanation of the client's personal history, suicide prevention, how to begin and deepen the counseling process, helping the client learn healthy ways of relating, moving the client from childhood to maturity, skills for healing grief, and working with couples facing issues of conflict, infidelity, addiction, and other common problems. Practical ways to build and manage a counseling practice are presented. A detailed index and table of contents make the volume easy to use as a guide for both the practitioner as well as people seeking help.

See this news release entitled "Mental Health News: Library Acquisitions Add Counseling Text To Collections" http://prlog.org/11741730

The title is also available through interlibrary loan in the US and Canada from major public and university libraries including : Howard University, University of Hawaii at Hilo, University of Manitoba, Vancouver Public Library (Canada), Dallas Theological Seminary, Bogazici Univ Library – Istanbul (Turkey), San Diego Public Library, Dixie State College of Utah, University of Louisville, University of Southern California, Texas A&M University, University of Missouri--Columbia, University of Wisconsin-Madison General Library System, Columbia University Libraries, University of Massachusetts at Boston, Hunter College Wexler Library – New York, NY, Trinity International University, Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis.

View text at http://www.amazon.com/Effective-Counseling-Skills-therapeutic-statements/dp/1442177993

View article here http://ezinearticles.com/?Effective-Counseling-Skills---The-Practical-Wording-of-Therapeutic-Statements-and-Processes&id=4878216

Go here for a video presentation from the author http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aodrYDAo9xk