Spiritual Interventions
In Bereavement Support
Provides growth and new life

• The majority of people find their own way through their loss without the help of professional counsellors
• Some people will suffer serious physical and mental health issues if not provided with professional support
(Parkes, 2001)
• Working through grief can provide opportunities for personal growth and strengthened religious beliefs
(Calhoun & Tedeschi, 1990)

• The genesis of grief lies in the inevitability of both attachment and separation for the sustenance and development of human life
(Mitchell & Anderson, 1983)
• The despair that emerges in the grief process stems from the knowledge that the relationship is not able to be restored
(Weiss, 2001)

• Ji Ji’s husband diagnosed with cancer
2004 at the age of 53
• 4 year period of surgery & chemotherapy
• Ji Ji was the primary carer
• Husband died in hospital 2008
• 2 visits to provide supportive care to Ji Ji in her home

• Ji Ji was a lapsed Catholic with no connection to the institutional church
• She had no hope or certainty that her husband would have a resurrected life and be at peace with God
• The death of her husband challenged her strongly held belief that they would grow old together and this took away her
“innocence”

• Ji Ji’s spiritual & religious beliefs were reactivated early in the bereavement phase
• Very spiritual person who found God present in nature and in sacred places
• Needed support in her quest for meaning
• Spiritual journey of great importance

• Formal grief counselling provided for a short period of time
• Regular support from GP providing medication for anxiety
• Further counselling for extended period of time
• Recommendation & referral to a
Psychiatrist

• 8 week closed bereavement support group
• Followed by a monthly open support group
• Ongoing support from a bereavement volunteer
• Individual supportive care comprising a spiritual component

• Spiritual conversations
• Holding cross given to Ji Ji
• Anointing with oil
• Prayer
• Sacraments
• Spiritual resources
• Provision of safe space

• Brokenness and togetherness are both part of the human condition
• Togetherness helps us to feel and believe that we belong
• The model of companioning goes beyond the medical model of bereavement treatment and can promote meaning-making
(Wolfelt, 1998)
• Spiritual care is about being present so as to allow spiritual questions to be addressed and healing to take place
(Harrington, 1995)