Thanatology 2200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: John Bowlby, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Habituation
17 Dec 2016
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Module 2: The dual process model of coping with bereavement: rationale and
description
This model identifies 2 types of stressors, loss- and restoration-oriented, and a dynamic,
regulatory coping process of oscillation, whereby the grieving individual at times
confronts, at other times avoids, the different tasks of grieving. This model proposes
that adaptive coping is composed of confrontation-avoidance of loss and restoration
stressors. It also argues the need for dosage of grieving, that is, the need to take respite
from dealing with either of these stressors, as an integral part of adaptive coping.
There are good reasons to assume that certain coping strategies enable some people to
come to terms with loss and avoid severe health consequences, whereas others adopt
strategies that are detrimental to health.
Bowlby (most impactful in the field), whereby working through grief is important for the
purpose of rearranging representations of the lost person and, relatedly, of the self.
Although this enabled detachment or the breaking of affectional bonds, at the same
time, it also furthered the continuation of the bond, a relocation of the deceased so that
adjustment can gradually be made to the physical absence of this person in ongoing
life.
The dual process model
Describes ways that people come to terms with the loss of a close person.
Loss- Versus Restoration-Orientation
Examination of the phenomena of bereavement suggest that people undertake, in
varying proportions, what we call loss- and restoration-oriented coping. These refer to 2
categories of stressor, each of which requires coping efforts during bereavement. It is
evident that coping does not occupy all of a bereaved person’s timeL Coping is
embedded in everyday life experience, which involves taking time off from grieving, as
when watching an engrossing TV program, reading, talking with friends about some
other topic, or sleeping.
Loss-orientation refers to the concentration on, and dealing with, processing of some
aspect of the loss experience itself, most particularly, with respect to the deceased
person. It typically involves rumination about the deceased person, and it typically
involves rumination about the deceased, about life together as it had been, and the
circumstances and events surrounding the death. It also encompasses yearning for the
deceased, looking at old photos, imagining how he or she would react, or crying about
the death of the loved person. It is evident that a range of emotional reactions are
involved, from pleasurable reminiscing to painful longing, from happiness that the
deceased is no longer suffering to despair that one is left alone. Whereas the emotions
comes and go, sometimes unwilled and unexpected, in the early days negative affect
tends to predominate; however, as time goes on, positive affect plays and increasingly
important role in the recovery process. Early on in bereavement, loss orientation
dominates, later on, attention turns more and more to other sources of upheaval and
distress.
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Document Summary
Module 2: the dual process model of coping with bereavement: rationale and description. This model identifies 2 types of stressors, loss- and restoration-oriented, and a dynamic, regulatory coping process of oscillation, whereby the grieving individual at times confronts, at other times avoids, the different tasks of grieving. This model proposes that adaptive coping is composed of confrontation-avoidance of loss and restoration stressors. It also argues the need for dosage of grieving, that is, the need to take respite from dealing with either of these stressors, as an integral part of adaptive coping. There are good reasons to assume that certain coping strategies enable some people to come to terms with loss and avoid severe health consequences, whereas others adopt strategies that are detrimental to health. Bowlby (most impactful in the field), whereby working through grief is important for the purpose of rearranging representations of the lost person and, relatedly, of the self.
