Children and Grief: When a Parent Dies [Hardcover]

J. William Worden (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 18, 1996 | ISBN-10: 1572301481 | ISBN-13: 978-1572301481 | Edition: 1

Drawing upon extensive interviews and assessments of school-age children who have lost a parent to death, this book offers a richly textured portrait of the mourning process in children. The volume presents major findings from the Child Bereavement Study and places them in the context of previous research, shedding new light on both the wide range of normal variation in children's experience of grief and the factors that put bereaved children at risk. The book also compares parentally bereaved children with those who have suffered loss of a sibling to death, or of a parent through divorce, exploring similarities and differences in these experiences of loss. A concluding section explores the clinical implications of the findings and includes a review of intervention models and activities, as well as a screening instrument designed to help identify high-risk bereaved children.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Helping children cope with the loss of a parent is a complex challenge which touches the lives of everyone around them. This pioneering work, which never fails to give voice to bereaved children themselves, provides immeasurable help and sensitive guidance to those of us involved with facilitating family rituals and supporting children through the tasks of mourning and remembrance." --Sumner James Waring, Jr., Ph.d. (Hon), B.S., B..A., Affiliated Family Funeral and Cremation Arrangement Service

"Seldom do books on bereavement integrate theory, research, and practical suggestions. Worden does this masterfully in his new book, Children and Grief. A report of his research on children who experienced the death of a parent is well-integrated with theory and the research of others, along with practical and helpful information that will be useful to clinicians and the public alike. This is must reading for anyone who cares for parentally bereft children." --Gerald P. Koocher, Ph.D., Chief of Psychology, Children's Hospital, Boston; Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School

"What a gift! Dr. Worden has provided us with a much-needed substantive resource surrounding the needs of bereaved children. This new resource is mandatory reading for anyone who is an advocate for the needs of children who have been impacted by the death of someone loved. This book is packed full of new findings and insights that will help guide caregivers in their efforts to help children mourn well so they can go on to live well." --Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D., Director, Center for Loss and Life Transition, Fort Collins, CO; author, Healing the Bereaved Child

"Children and Grief will advance the reader's understanding of the impact and needs of children who have had a parent die. Worden goes beyond simply sharing the results of a longitudinal study, which in itself would be helpful. He also identifies those most at risk, and discusses models for intervention. This book is a 'must read' for anyone in the field of childhood bereavement." --Donna L. Schuurman, Ed.D., Executive Director, The Dougy Center for Grieving Children, Portland Oregon

"William Worden is one of our best writers about grief and loss. Children and Grief stands out among the growing numbers of books on this subject because it includes actual studies of children who have faced loss. Worden effectively weaves the learnings from the research with his actual work with children, making the volume all the more impressive." -- Ted Bowman, Minnesota Council on Family Relations, Family Forum Summer '97

"A valued summary of the impact of parental death on children. As such, counselors and educators will find it useful." --Kenneth J. Doka, Contemporary Psychology

About the Author

Bio updated 9/01 for paperback release

J. William Worden, PhD, ABPP, holds academic appointments at Harvard Medical School and the Rosemead Graduate School of Psychology in California. He is also Co-Principal Investigator of the Harvard Child Bereavement Study, based at the Massachusetts General Hospital. His clinical practice is in Newport Beach, California.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 225 pages
• Publisher: The Guilford Press; 1 edition (October 18, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1572301481
• ISBN-13: 978-1572301481
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #779,421 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Professional treasure chest here, May 15, 2000

By 

William G. (Bill) Hoy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Children and Grief: When a Parent Dies (Hardcover)

If you're looking for a book that brings together the best in scholarly research with a practical usefulness, look no further. Children and Grief is a veritable treasure chest. Worden and his colleagues did a masterful job of using data derived not only from parents (where many studies gather their data) but also through structured interviews with the children themselves.

Perhaps the section of the volume of most compelling use to professionals is the chapter in which Worden summarizes what he calls "mediators of the child's bereavement experience." Here, in useful fashion, the author draws out elements of the death itself, its cause, the relationship between the child, deceased parent, and surviving caregivers, and a host of other factors that influence how a bereaved child copes.

Dr. Worden wrote one of the landmark textbooks on grief counseling when he wrote Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy two decades ago. The present volume is destined to be of as much practical help as the first one was. It's another book that has remained at arm's length from my desk since it was first published three years ago.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great research, June 19, 2009

By 

Jackie Dodd - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Children and Grief: When a Parent Dies (Paperback)

This is a fantastic book if you are interested in a fact based approach. If what you need right now is sympathy and emotion, this really isn't the place to look, but for facts, truth and statistics, it doesn't get any better. With a myriad of books that approach with a sullen, soft tone, this book is straight forward and honest. As a childhood grief survivor I found this approach to be cathartic and emotionally transformative. It takes a solid, unbiased look at what works and what research says. As a child, I heard a strong message that children don't grieve and with many caregivers still ignoring the grief of children, this book is a great way to address many damaging misconceptions in non-judgmental way.
This book is a must for anyone who works with children who are dealing with grief.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Suicide Survivors will find this book helpful, August 13, 2003

By 

Barbara Rubel, MA (NJ, Author, But I Didn't Say Goodbye: For parents and professionals helping child suicide survivors) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Children and Grief: When a Parent Dies (Paperback)

Worden's book is an outstanding resource for professionals helping grieving children. I would recommend it to those who work with child suicide survivors. Children and Grief will provide insight regarding the child's tasks of grief.