Death Acceptance Through Ritual

Abstract

This article summarizes the author's original research, which sought to discover the elements necessary for using death-related ritual as a psychotherapeutic technique for grieving people who experience their grief as “stuck,” “unending,” “maladaptive,” and so on. A death-related ritual is defined as a ceremony, directly involving at least 1 person and the symbols of the loss, and usually directly and indirectly involving others. Suggestions for counselors and psychotherapists are discussed.