Helping Grieving People: When Tears Are Not Enough: A Handbook for Care Providers [Paperback]

J. Shep Jeffreys (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0415946034 | ISBN-13: 978-0415946032 | Publication Date: January 1, 2005 | Edition: 1

Helping Grieving People is a training manual for care providers who will provide support and counseling to those grieving death, illness, and other losses. The author addresses grief as it affects a variety of relationships and discusses different intervention and support strategies, always cognizant of individual and cultural differences in the expression and treatment of grief.

Jeffreys has established a practical approach to preparing trainee caregivers through three basic tracks: Heart, Head and Hand. The first step, Heart, calls for self discovery, freeing oneself of accumulated loss in order to focus all attention on the griever. Head emphasizes understanding the complex and dynamic phenomena of human grief. Hand stresses the caregiver's actual intervention, and speaks to the appropriate level of skill as well as the various methods of healing available. Following these three motifs, the Handbook discusses the social and cultural contexts of grief as well as its psychological constructs.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'This "Handbook for Care Providers" could easily be renamed "The Bible for Care Providers" given its depth of coverage, enormous range of topics, soulfulness, and its usefulness as a guide for all grief-care-providers.' -  The Maryland Psychologist

‘So reader-friendly was this book that I’d happily encourage the interested bereaved to dip into it to help make sense of what they are experiencing and to gauge its normality.’ – David Kissane, Bereavement Care

"I recommend this book wholeheartedly to healthcare chaplains who are wanting an introduction to the subject of grief, looking for a guide through the maze of current thinking, or (like me) needing to bring their knowledge a little more up to date. The book includes a very helpful summary of seminal theorists from Bowlby to Neimeyer and the insights of these and others are drawn on throughout the book." - Geoff Walters, Senior Chaplain at Pilgrams Hospice, Ashford, in Association of Hospice and Palliative Care Chaplain News, February 2006.

 

"The author's wealth of experience, both personally and professionally, allows one to step into a world of practical clinical information, useful case studies, and deeply personal reflections that carry the reader to broader levels of understanding of the mourner's path."

"The interaction of the reader is a major component to the success of Helping Grieving People, as it allows insight into personal discovery which can only serve as a tool for working with others."

"This book well serves professionals and grieving individuals as a template of understanding of the grief process, a practical guide for care providers, and a complete wealth of information on the subject of bereaved mourners. J. Shep Jeffreys has produced an invaluable tool for anyone working with issues of loss and grief by building a strong foundation of knowledge necessary to deal with the complexities associated with bereavement in today's world." - Linda Goldman, in Death Studies, 32: 693-699, 2008.

 

About the Author

J. Shep Jeffreys, Ed.D., C.T., is a licensed psychologist specializing in grief, loss, and end-of-life concerns and a Certified Thanatologist. In addition to maintaining a private practice, Jeffreys is assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and affiliate assistant professor of pastoral counseling, Loyola College in Maryland. He is a consultant to hospices, hospitals, nursing homes, educational institutions, and corporations. He served as trainer and workshop leader with Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in the United States, Canada, and overseas, and as consulting psychologist for the Johns Hopkins AIDS Service. The author can be found
on the web at www.GriefCareProvider.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: Brunner-Routledge; 1 edition (January 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0415946034
• ISBN-13: 978-0415946032
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #726,528 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Bible for Grief/ Yours and Theirs!, August 27, 2005

By 

Carol A. Brothers "Carol A Brothers, PhD" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Helping Grieving People: When Tears Are Not Enough: A Handbook for Care Providers (Paperback)

This book could easily be called a bible given the depth, breadth and soulfulness of its content. Dr. Jeffreys speaks of the need for the care provider to communicate from the head, hand and heart, and he does just that in this book. It is rare to find a text so full of relevant information, well organized, well presented, and at the same time nurturing the heart of the reader. This makes for an amazing experience. The care provider leaves this book with heightened empathy, with increased love of self and of fellow man, what a unique gift! I have been in practice over 25 years as a psychologist with a specialty in grief, loss, and trauma. I trained with the senior staff of Elizabeth Kubler Ross, MD and I find Dr. Jeffrey's book to be the most comprehensive writing I have ever encountered on this topic. I highly recommend it for everyone, the professional, the friend or family member and each individual, for we are all grieving people at some time , arn't we?

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most Comprehensive Book On Grieving On The Market Today., February 17, 2005

By 

Alison Nugent "LCSW-C" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Helping Grieving People: When Tears Are Not Enough: A Handbook for Care Providers (Paperback)

This book is a gift to clinicians and lay people alike. As a counselor working with grieving families for fourteen years, it immediately gave me fresh insight and hands-on tools for working with the complexities of those who are grieving. Each situation for a respective client is unique. This book helped me to think outside the box, and to bring even greater depth to the healing process.

I also believe this book would be directly helpful to those who are personally grieving. It addresses one of the questions that my clients most often bring to sessions: "Is what I am experiencing normal?" This book is laid out in a highly readable and organized fashion. I have a full library of books on the subject, and this is the best one I have seen thus far.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 5 stars--superior resource--a "must have", January 24, 2005

By 

M. S. Cadden (Bethesda, MD (USA)) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Helping Grieving People: When Tears Are Not Enough: A Handbook for Care Providers (Paperback)

Dr. Jeffreys has written a highly readable, comprehensive book on grief. Not only does he cover grief from an academic viewpoint, he teaches us, the readers, how to "celebrate the dignity and authority of the grieving person" as an "exquisite witness." Helping Grieving People: When tears are not enough helps us to understand that all change contains loss and grief. This book contains personal stories and practical, easy to follow directions for coping with grief and/or helping another. Jeffreys teaches us how to integrate thinking, feeling, and doing. He makes distinctions between the usual (or expected grief process) and complicated grief. He includes exercises and case studies to clarify the material. The book is appropriate for grief counselors and lay people alike. Highly recommended.