ABSTRACT
This chapter carefully delineates intensive treatment with a family, tracking before and after a mother’s death. It reveals the vastly different manifestations of grief in two siblings who are working to negotiate their profound loss. An overview of bereavement theories is presented; highlighted are the Dual Process model, which examines the oscillation between avoidance and confrontation in the grief process, and the Meaning Reconstruction model, which emphasizes growth and making sense of the loss experience as central to recovery. Through case observations and corresponding literature, the role of one’s cultural framework in understanding, and coping with grief are addressed. The presentation of detailed directives, interactions, and interventions within select sessions explore the means by which the artistic medium allows for a developmentally appropriate venue to process grief. Finally, the role of the therapeutic relationship is examined in its importance for holding and bearing witness to the fraught emotional content of a bereaved youth.
