IDENTIFIERS *Bereavement

Difficult as it may be to accept, loss and grieving are natural components of living. Traditionally, the bereaved have relied upon the help of clergy, family, and the medical profession. The behavioral and social sciences virtually ignored loss, grief and bereavement as subjects until as recently as 15 or 20 years ago. However, counselors are increasingly cilled upon to meet the challenge of helping the bereaved to grow and ultimately readjust by offering encouragement, quality bereavement care, and readily available support services. Bereavement counseling requires specialized training and education designed to produce caring, informed counselors. This article reviews the phases of bereavement (numbing, urge to recover the lost object, disorganization and despair, reorganization) and specific interventions (professional individual intervention; prefessional group intervention; self-hel