Psychotherapy and the Widowed Patient

An examination of the impact of a spouse's death on an individual's mental health. This collection of essays addresses a range of issues concerning loss, grief and bereavement and provides practical approaches for widowed persons and the helping professionals.

Coming at a time of renewed interest in the developmental changes of the life cycle, Psychotherapy and the Widowed Patient is a rich resource that examines the impact of a spouse''s death on an individual''s mental health. Psychiatrists and psychoanalysts address a wide range of issues concerning loss, grief, and bereavement, and provide practical and creative approaches for both widowed persons and the helping professionals charged with treating their grief.

Chapters in this compassionate volume discuss the characteristics of individuals who are more likely to seek professional help in coping with grief, widowhood as a time of growth and development, the value of openness instead of denial in dealing with death, the grieving process in young widowed spouses, the similarities of widowhood to separation and divorce, the role of dependency in how well widowed patients develop emotionally, and the role of loyalty in the process of grief. The more clinical chapters examine strategies for carrying out experiential psychotherapy with widowed patients, rational-emotive therapy, grief therapy, the effects of new perspectives on spousal bereavement on clinical practice, and aspects of bereavement response to loss, with a timeframe for viewing psychotherapeutic intervention. A review of the psychological literature regarding widowhood completes this comprehensive new book.