VISTAS Online is an innovative publication produced for ACA by Dr. Garry R. Walz and Dr. Jeanne C. Bleuer of Counseling Outfitters, LLC. Its purpose is to provide a means of capturing the ideas, information and experiences generated by the annual ACA Conference and selected ACA Division Conferences. Papers on a program or practice that has been validated through research or experience may also be submitted. This digital collection of peer-reviewed articles is authored by counselors, for counselors. VISTAS Online contains the full text of over 900 proprietary counseling articles published from 2004 to 2017.
2017
A Metatheory of Grief: Implications for Counselors
Catherine Beckett and Cass Dykeman
2017
Over the last 50 years, several conceptual metatheories of grief have emerged. In chronological order, these metatheories focused on: (1) stage-based models, (2) task-based models, and (3) idiographic models. This article reviews the grief counseling literature and traces the development of the three metatheories. All three metatheories influence current clinical practice. This review suggests how certain outdated models may be impacting the effectiveness of grief support and what is needed to enhance the support being given to those in need.
Keywords: grief counseling, grief counseling theory, grief research, grief
conceptualization