ABSTRACT
Humans respond to any loss through a process called grief. According to Dorland’s
Illustrated Medical Dictionary (1994, p.771), grief is defined as ‘‘the normal emotional
response to an external and consciously recognized loss.’’ We would like to expand that
definition: ‘‘Grief is the normal emotional, spiritual, physical, relational, financial, pro-
fessional, mental response to an external and consciously recognized loss.’’ The addition of
the extra words makes the definition consistent with the belief that healing is
holistic in nature. It is a well-known fact that grief-stricken people not only suffer
emotionally but in other aspects of their lives as well. Therefore, to ensure healthy
grieving, appropriate ministerial strategies must consider assessment and treatment
of these various components of what it means to be human.
