An Expression of Grief and Loss

An Expression of Grief and Loss is designed for mental health professionals who wish to blend the techniques of art therapy with those who have experienced a grief response due to loss. As the grief experience is intensely personal and leaves the client emotionally vulnerable, this guidebook has been designed to incorporate not merely the permanent loss of a loved one but also the myriad of losses that surround everyday living. This manual is broken into three distinct stages: the early phase which promotes safety and security, a middle phase which focuses on acceptance and the emotional reality of the loss, and the late phase which endorses the formation of new relationships while preparing for the resurfacing of painful memories. This guidebook promotes interaction, group cohesiveness, and most importantly, illuminates the process of art therapy while providing step-by-step directives. Though written with the group therapy client in mind, this manual can easily be modified for treatment with individuals. This chapter offers the clinician successive directives which lend focus to client’s emotional and intrapsychic issues through collaboration with others, and examples of completed group art directives with interpretive explanations.