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Bringing the dead to life.
Telling stories, constructing legacies and re-membering in
grief counsellingLorraine Hedtke MSW, LCSW, PhD
California State University San Bernardino
A Narrative PerspectiveWe live through stories
People are brought to life through stories
We are spoken into existence
A person’s stories do not die
How We Talk MattersOur talk can disconnect us from
those who have died
Or --
We can bring the dead to life again
Your Professional RoleTo be a story-teller
To be a listener to stories
To ensure the words of the dead to not die with them
To look after the stories of the dead
To bring a person back to life through story
Donna“I think I am going half-nuts”
Took care of her father Ernie for many years
Shared love of gardening
Talked about loosing her “best friend”
The Story of Grief Psychology
The relationship was over
She should get over her sadness
Grief is a journey
Move towards acceptance
Grieve properly
Grief is like an illness to get over
Let go
FreudDecathexis
Removing attachment is the goal of grieving
His assumptions created norms for grieving
Little possibility to grieve differently
The Effect of These Assumptions
Stories that connect us to the dead are squeezed out
Talking about the dead becomes suspect
Being “in denial”
Complicated grief
My AssumptionsModern grief psychology has
mistakenly:Separated the living from the
deadEncouraged people to move onSet tasks or stagesRequired letting goValued acceptance of lossCuts off emotional resources
• This produces more pain
The effect of the dominant story on Donna
There must be something wrong with her
Not adjusting to reality
Not completing unfinished business
Unable to find closure
The Idea of Introduction
A relational practice
The dead cannot introduce themselves
We can speak on their behalf
A Narrative ApproachUse the power of introduction
Focus on the on-going life of stories
Fold stories into life
Make new meanings
Hold on to the best of relationships
Grief is about two people
Where Donna started“I thought it (our relationship) was
over. And that was it. It was over. And I had to move on with it being over and I didn’t want to. And I fought it and I went half way nuts. I would find myself driving where I didn’t know where I was going. I was not keeping my house done. It was insane.”
My Questions to DonnaIntroduce me to your father.
What did it mean to have him as your father?
How was he with others?
Tell me about a time of special connection.
What did you learn from him?
The Effect of this on Donna
She built a new story of her father
His memory inspired her
She had a sense of him walking with her through hardships
She restored memories
She found other places to talk about him
She developed rituals of connection
In Donna’s Words“… in the group we learned that it’s not over. It’s
changed, but it’s not over. Not that you are going to forget the loved ones, not that you’re going to discount them at all, but to step back into the world and share them because they are coming through you. You have to share them. Some of the silly nonsense that my dad did with his Christmas stocking - how he would put vegetables in our stockings to tease us. I start thinking about the fun things we did at Christmas. And the traditions that my mother did that we have carried on and that I will continue to carry on.”
Martha’s storyWhen the bereaved has no memory
of the dead
Martha’s father died when she was 13
He had been away for many years
She remembered little
No one spoke of him after he died
In the Bereavement GroupMartha was hesitant to speak
People might judge her father
He had been in prison for drugs
Her mother had divorced him
He was brutally murdered
Changing “I only had nine pictures. It was all I had
of the physical things I have of him. I started to feel like there was more to him that I wanted to know. So I thought, ‘I have an auntie who’s alive, his sister. I have an uncle who’s alive, his brother.’ There’s a whole new world out there. Like more to him.”
What Introduction Meant to Martha
Desire to connect with her father
Learn multiple stories
Grow new relationship with her father’s family
Meeting her father’s family
“So I actively went out, that was actually very hard too, cause I hadn’t spoke to them in so many years. Since my dad’s death, it was kind of hard, difficult for my uncle. OK, so where do we start from here. That’s our connection, my/our father. When we made that connection, it was a holiday. It was nice that it was a holiday there was food and people gathering to be thankful anyway. So it was a good opportunity. What I am so glad or happy about – I guess I had some anticipation about how they were going to receive us or how were going to feel – but once we were there, I felt comfortable. I felt the love that was there.”
Remembering him“I remember sharing with them [her father’s
family] that all these years, that I felt like I was the only one who remembered him, because I didn’t have nobody (sic) to talk to about him. I always had him in my heart, but I felt like I was the only one, because everybody moved on with their life and nobody thinks about him and nobody cares and nobody talked about him. Life goes on. And so when I met them, and I saw my Auntie again, we just automatically just bringing him up. It was kind of like reassuring for me. I thought, ‘People do remember him’. And he is remembered.”
The Effects for MarthaJoyful family reunion
Her father came alive for her
His voice lived with her
“I think bringing him back to life kind of allowed him, I guess, for his voice to be heard - its kind of odd how that happens when you are talking about a person and all of a sudden when you start sharing about them – its bringing their voice back, kind of.”
Might this be Disturbing?“I do think that I did cry more. Probably during
those six weeks, but it wasn’t like crying for depression. It was like crying for joy. I think in the beginning I did feel a sadness I think cause I missed him and I wish I could have him physically. Like I could touch him. At the same time, it was just tears that ‘I am so happy, Dad, to have you around. I am so happy that I don’t have to give you up. I am so happy that I don’t have to keep you in my box (with my pictures). I am so happy that I can just talk to you whenever I want. That I can pull you out whenever’. Those tears were good tears.”
A Third Kind of Introduction
Introducing the dead to new people
Took place at a workshop
Interviewed Kirby
Audience of about 50 counselors listening
The Story of Kirby & BeahBeah died when she was 16 years old
Young woman who was full of life
Took a stand on issues
Stood up for others
Close connection to her brother
Kirby’s son and moon
Effect on the AudienceInvited into a sacred place
Deeply moved by Kirby’s introduction of Beah
Their own lives are transformed
Facilitating the Audience’s responses
I spoke about how meeting Beah impacted on me
Michael White referred to this as ‘transport’
Asked the audience how they were transported
How has your life been changed as a result?
I asked Kirby how he was impacted by the audience
The Audience’s words“I’ll be going home tonight to the
sun in my life, who is my 16-year-old son, and will be looking at the time I spend with him in a really different way thanks to you and Beah.”
Another woman’s response
“I want to thank Beah for showing me about girls who keep going on. I am really interested in how girls make it and how they have voices and make space for themselves. Every time I read in the paper about a girl dying suddenly, I feel like another light has gone off. Now I am seeing that is not the way it is—it doesn’t have to be that way. So now I feel safer.”
And still another’s response
“Thank you for sharing your daughter. I am also a counselor and just the way that she stood up for others who didn’t have a voice. I’m a coordinator of our Bully Prevention Program. It is so nice to see girls, like your daughter, who have voices, standing up to help those who don’t have voices. I’d like to share her story with students, if that’s OK with you?”
Kirby’s Response“Remembering . . . Appreciated . . .
Feels good to share. Feels great! I want to shout “Beah” from the rooftops. The last thing I want to do is move on. That doesn’t make sense to me.”