ABSTRACT
Historically, care for the dying and the bereaved has been the responsibility of family members and their community. People have traditionally sought comfort from those who knew the deceased and shared the loss. However, in keeping with the greater complexity of modern life, these informal supports have been supplemented in recent decades by a cadre of volunteers and professionals who offer some form of counseling and guidance for people who have experienced loss. For example, in some countries such as the UK, support networks have grown to include well-coordinated organizations of trained volunteers who provide outreach to the recently bereaved under the aegis of groups like Cruse, which organizes national and regional conferences to share developments in theory, research, and practice. In the United States, the growth of organizations such as the Association for Death Education and Counseling provides for similar dissemination of knowledge and skills among professional counselors, coupled with certification programs to ensure their familiarity with recent theories and research. In Australia, government-funded bereavement care is becoming even more fully integrated into the national landscape, especially in the aftermath of natural disasters such as bushfires and floods that have devastated whole communities. Finally, in recognition that bereavement care is a crucial element of end-of -life care, networks of bereavement care services throughout the world are growing to extend the compassionate engagement of oncology and hospice services beyond the terminal patient to family members. This chapter offers a brief review of some of the key concepts that guide these more formal caregiving efforts, with a focus on the diagnosis and treatment of problematic grief responses of adults following the death of a loved one. It is divided into four sections: (1) historical perspectives, (2) contemporary perspectives on assessment, (3) interventions, and (4) evidence-based practice.
