ABSTRACT
Just as philosophers, linguists, and theologians emphasize the role of meaning in human life, so too do many psychologists. In particular, both classical and contemporary constructivists have focused on the processes by which people punctuate the seamless flow of life events, organizing them into meaningful episodes, and discerning in them recurrent themes that both give them personal significance and lead them to seek validation in their relationships with others. Consider the experience of Gayle, struggling in the aftermath of the death of her son, Max, in a vehicular accident on his way back to college. A growing body of research on meaning reconstruction in the wake of loss supports the broad outline of this model, and is beginning to add clinically useful detail to our understanding of how the bereaved negotiate the unwelcome change introduced into their lives by the loss, for both better and worse, and how authors as professional helpers might best support their search for significance.
