Grief and the Expressive Arts: Practices for Creating Meaning

The use of the arts in psychotherapy is a burgeoning area of interest, particularly in the field of bereavement, where it is a staple intervention in hospice programs, children’s grief camps, specialized programs for trauma or combat exposure, work with bereaved parents, widowed elders or suicide survivors, and in many other contexts. But how should clinicians differentiate between the many different approaches and techniques, and what criteria should they use to decide which technique to use—and when? Grief and the Expressive Arts provides the answers using a crisp, coherent structure that creates a conceptual and relational scaffold for an artistically inclined grief therapy. Each of the book’s brief chapters is accessible and clearly focused, conveying concrete methods and anchoring them in brief case studies, across a range of approaches featuring music, creative writing, visual arts, dance and movement, theatre and performance and multi-modal practices. Any clinician—expressive arts therapist, grief counselor, or something in between—looking for a professionally oriented but scientifically informed book for guidance and inspiration need look no further than Grief and the Expressive Arts.

Table of Contents:
List of Figures and Tables Foreword Sandra L. Bertman Preface Robert A. Neimeyer and Barbara E. Thompson List of Contributors Part I: Building the Frame 1. Meaning Making and the Art of Grief Therapy Robert A. Neimeyer and Barbara E. Thompson 2. Poiesis, Praise And Lament: Celebration, Mourning And The Architecture Of Expressive Arts Therapy Stephen K. Levine 3. Art Therapy for Processing Children’s Traumatic Grief and Loss Eliana Gil 4. When the Gods Are Silent: The Spirit of Resilience and the Soul of Healing Michael Conforti 5. Expressive Therapies for Bereavement: The State of the Arts Jordan Potash and Rainbow Ho Part II: Doing the Work Music 6. Singing Goodbye Diane Austin 7. Hear Here – Invite Music of Memories Joy Berger 8. The Emerging Life Song Thelma Duffey 9. Playing Out Feelings on Instruments Katrina Skewes Mcferran 10. Lyric Analysis Natalie Wlodarczyk 11. Acrostic in Therapeutic Songwriting Bob Heath 12. Group Songwriting Using Templates Jane Lings 13. Singing Our Loss Dorit Amir Creative Writing 14. Virtual Dream Stories Robert A. Neimeyer and Polly Young-Eisendrath 15. Interplaying Gail Noppe-Brandon 16. Graphopoetic Process Shanee Stepakoff 17. The Furniture Game Jane Moss 18. The I Am. . . Poem Sally S. Atkins 19. Acrostic Eulogy Harold Ivan Smith 20. Chapters of Our Lives Robert A. Neimeyer Theater & Performance 21. Playback Theatre Virginia Reed Murphy and Robert A. Neimeyer 2. Enacting the Emotion ane Milman 3. Dancing In the Shadows oralee M. Scott-Conforti 24. The Practical Muse in Social Drama David Baecker 25. The Six-Part Storymaking Method Breffni Mcguinness Dance & Movement 26. Kinaesthetic Imagining Ilene Serlin 27. The Dance of Transition Kris Eric Larsen 28. Body Connections Alexandria Callahan 29. Embodied Compassion and Empathy Kris Eric Larsen and Jessica Young 30. Moving the Body From Within Toni Smith Visual Arts 31. Narrative Scrapbooking Elizabeth Maier Chernow 32. Sketching Out the Story Barbara E. Thompson 33. Drawing on Metaphor Leigh Davies 34. Moments Held Documentary Todd Hochberg 35. Simple Drawing Gerry R. Cox and Bernard J. Vanden Berk Multi-Modal Approaches 36. Conversing With the Canvas Barbara E. Thompson 37. Spirit Sticks Sally S. Atkins 38. Living Memoires Videography Andy Hau Yan Ho and Cecilia Lai Wan Chan 39. Grieffiti Lysa Toye 40. Dancing Among the Stones Denis Whalen 41. Letting the Worry Go Linda Goldman Part III: Art and Reflexivity 42. Collage: Integrating the Torn Pieces Sharon Strouse 43. Photographic Metaphors Irene Renzenbrink 44. Memorial Tattooing - Making Grief Visible Malinda Ann Hill 45. Enso: The Painted Journal Lisa Jennings 46. Moving the Immovable Ione Beauchamp Part IV: Programs 47. Restoring the Heartbeat of Hope Following Suicide Diana C. Sands 48. Integrative Songwriting Thomas A. Dalton and Robert E. Krout 49. Pongo Creative Writing for At-Risk Youth Richard Gold 50. Soldier’s Heart: Using the Arts to Heal From War Kate Dahlstedt 51. Moving Through Grief One Note at a Time: Music Therapy for Bereaved Children Russell Hilliard 52. The Grief Healing Garden Yu-Chan Li and Cypress Chang 53. Expressive Arts Joining Hearts at Camp Good Grief Angela Hamblen Part V: Research 54. A Civilian’s Artistic Dialogue With Combat Veterans Iishana Artra 55. The Art of Research Carol Wogrin, Val Maasdorp and Debra Machando 56. The Expressive Arts in Grief Therapy: An Empirical Perspective Carlos Torres, Robert. A. Neimeyer, and Maryl L. Neff 57. Persephone in the Underworld: Closing Reflections Barbara E. Thompson and Robert A. Neimeyer Epilogue: Ghosts Move, A Poem by Jessica Moore