ABSTRACT
Fears around death and dying loom large in many people's minds. Having choice and control over where death occurs is one of the requirements for a 'good death'. People who are dying and those close to them will have many questions about death. Lack of knowledge breeds unnecessary fears and disturbing fantasies. This chapter analyses the issues around death and grief using three models: Kubler-Ross's model; the work of Stroebe and Schut and the approach of William Worden. In every age there are people who suffer 'disenfranchised grief'–grief in a relationship which is ignored, disapproved of or misunderstood by wider society. The chapter looks at the application of models–the humanistic model, psychodynamic theories and attachment theory. Dying and bereavement always have a cultural dimension to which social workers need to be sensitive, whilst realising that an individual's beliefs and experience will not necessarily follow cultural norms.
