Supplemental Resources for Counseling Grieving Clients

Abstract

We recommend the following resources to give depth to the topics discussed in this special section. These materials may also be beneficial to clients or their parents. I will briefly review target audiences for these resources. Association for Death Education and Counseling website, http:// www.adec.org. The Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) is a multidisciplinary professional organization that shares information relevant to death education, care of the dying, grief counseling, and thanatology in general. Empirical publications, general resources, current events, membership information, and a thanatologist finder are among the features on the website. Though it is accessible to the general public, the website is intended primarily for the professional community; some sections are available only to ADEC members. American Academy of Children and Adolescent Psychiatry. Facts for families: Children and grief. Retrieved June 14, 2009, from http://www.aacap.org/ cs/root/facts_for_families/children and_grief. The Academy website contains useful information for individuals helping children who are grieving. Boss, P. (1999). Ambiguous loss: Learning to live with unresolved grief. Cambridge, MA: Harvard College. Boss, P. (2006). Loss, trauma, and resilience: Therapeutic work with ambiguous loss. New York, NY: Norton. Pauline Boss wrote this and the previous text to assist bereaved persons who have mourned for a significant period of time yet feel they cannot live beyond their grief. A practicing psychotherapist, she uses clinical experience, anecdotes, and personal experiences to explain the grieving process. Her stated intent is to normalize the grieving process and challenge the expectation that grieving should end at a specific time for everyone. The previous book is targeted to a lay audience, this one to a professional one. Center for Loss and Life Transition (CLFT), http://www.centerforloss.com/ index.php. The CLFT, located in Fort Collins, Colorado, offers an extensive series of training workshops. It also publishes an online newsletter, provides access to articles, and has a bookstore. Children's Grief Education Association (CGEA), http://www.childgrief.org. The CGEA is dedicated to serving the needs of grieving children and their families and provides education and support to caregivers. It provides both online courses and useful information about children and grief. Congress, E. P. (2004). Cultural and ethical issues in working with culturally diverse patients and their families: The use of the culturagram to promote culturally competent practice in health care settings. In A. Metteri, T. Kroger, A. Pohjola, & P. Rauhala (Eds.), Social work visions from around the globe: Citizens, methods, and approaches (pp. 249-262). New York: Routledge. The authors present an assessment tool, the culturagram, to help mental health professionals understand culturally diverse clients. The culturagram covers 10 areas of diversity: reasons for relocation, legal status, time in community, language, health beliefs, crisis events, holidays and special events, contact with cultural and religious institutions, values about education and work, and values about families. The authors also outline clinical implications in working with culturally diverse clients. Goldman, L. (2005). Children also grieve: Talking about death and healing. Philadelphia, PA: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. This text is an imaginative resource, illustrated with color photographs, that offers support and reassurance to children who have lost a close friend or relative. The book also offers information to adults about supporting children through their bereavement. The combination of narrative and interactive memory in the first part of the book is designed for children. The second part contains vocabulary words to help children express their feelings about bereavement, a bibliography of resources for children and adults, and a section for adults wishing to help children through the grief process. …