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Pastoral Theological Reflection on Grief: Contemporary Theory and the Practice of Ministry by Melissa Kelley

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Abstract

This article highlights four of Melissa Kelley’s contributions in her book Grief: Contemporary Theory and Practice. The author identifies these as: 1) Kelley’s capacity to distill and synthesize the most important areas of contemporary grief theory; 2) her work on attachment theory and its relationship to people’s ways of coping with grief; 3) the focus on the research of Bonanno et al. (Journal of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 60:67–73, 2005) and showing us who is most vulnerable and in need of pastoral care during grief; 4) her emphasis on meaning making as the core of the grieving process. The article also lifts up questions concerning communal practices for grieving loss born of injustice and the need for prevention and fostering coping mechanisms so that the worst effects of grief might be mitigated.

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Notes

  1. Beginning with Freud, psychoanalytic writers have emphasized the necessity of “decathexis,” emotional separation, believing that in relinquishing ties to the deceased one avoids developing a morbid yearning for their return and that adjustment to living without the deceased will thereby be facilitated.

  2. Many contemporary writers on grief—Worden (2009), Attig (1996), Neimeyer (2001), and others—highlight the importance of a continuity of bonds.

  3. Ibid.

References

  • Attig, T. (1996). How we grieve: Relearning the world. New York: Oxford University Press.

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  • Bonanno, G., Wortman, C., & Boerner, K. (2005). Resilient or at risk: A four year study of older adults who initially showed high or low stress following conjugal loss. Journal of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 60, 67–73.

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  • Kelley, M. (2010). Grief: Contemporary theory and practice in ministry. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.

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  • Kirkpatrick, L. (1999). Attachment and religious representations and behavior. In J. Cassidy and P. R. Shaver (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research and clinical applications (pp. 803–822).

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  • Kirkpatrick, L. (2005). Attachment, evolution and the psychology of religion. New York: Guilford.

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  • Lester, A. (1995). Hope in pastoral care and counseling. Louisville: Westminster John Knox.

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  • Neimeyer, R. (2001). Meaning reconstruction and the experience of loss. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

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  • Worden, R. W. (2009). Grief theory and grief therapy: A handbook for mental health professionals (4th ed.). New York: Springer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Andover Newton Theological School, Newton, MA, USA

    Brita L. Gill-Austern

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  1. Brita L. Gill-Austern
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Correspondence to Brita L. Gill-Austern.

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Gill-Austern, B.L. Pastoral Theological Reflection on Grief: Contemporary Theory and the Practice of Ministry by Melissa Kelley. Pastoral Psychol 63, 101–104 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-012-0494-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-012-0494-4

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