Attachment-Informed Grief Therapy:
Recruiting Relational Resources

Death may end a life, but not necessarily a relationship.  Drawing on attachment-informed and Two-Track models of bereavement, we will begin by considering grieving as a process of reconstructing rather than relinquishing our bonds with those who have died, and the circumstances that can interfere with this natural process.  Clinical videos bearing on a range of losses will sensitize learners to various impediments to reorganizing the “back story” of the ongoing relationship with the deceased, as we also note several techniques that can help move such work forward.  Participants will practice a creative technique for mapping their “secure base” relationships and leave with a framework for conceptualizing attachment issues complicating adjustment to bereavement and a tool for assessing features of the “back story” of their experiences with the deceased that merit attention in grief counseling and therapy.

Note:  This 3-hour CE module focuses on application of psychological assessment and/or intervention methods that have overall consistent and credible empirical support in the contemporary peer reviewed scientific literature beyond those publications and other types of communications devoted primarily to the promotion of the approach.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • Identify dimensions of insecure attachment that complicate adaptation to the death;
  • Summarize the Two-Track Model of bereavement and its use in identifying problems meriting clinical attention;
  • Utilize a validated measure of the quality of the relationship with the deceased to pinpoint a focus for intervention; and
  • Apply Secure Base Mapping to trace sustaining bonds over time to identify internal and external resources to promote adaptation to life transitions.

Earn 3 Continuing Education (CE) Credits

Earn 1 Credit toward
Level 1 Certification in Grief Therapy
offered by the Portland Institute.

 
 

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

This program contains the following video segments:

  • Attachment and Impermanence:  The Role of Internal Working Models (43 mins)
  • Caring and Daring:  Drawing the Secure Base Map (53 mins)
  • Object Stories:  Reaffirming the Continuing Bond (35 mins)
  • Working with the Relationship:  The Two-Track Model of Bereavement (32 mins)

Attachment-Informed Grief Therapy:
Recruiting Relational Resources

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