Content area
Full Text
There is an abundance of theoretical models of loss and grief beginning with Sigmund Freud's theory of melancholia and mourning to more recent theory about anticipated grief and disenfranchised grief. This article presents a theoretical model created by Alan Keith-Lucas more than 20 years ago and compares and contrasts the model with the Kübler-Ross stages of grief model, Worden's tasks of mourning, and Stroebe and Schut's dual process model. The author addresses additional models including Corr's dimensions of grief, Parkes' stages of bereavement, and Rando's six "Rs" of grief. The Keith-Lucas model provides a significant addition to the literature with a focus on the role of protest, i.e., the expression of negative emotion, in achieving mastery and avoiding detachment and despair. The model provides readers with specific methods for assisting the bereaved in developing skills and resilience for healing and for helping others in the future.
Keywords: Keith-Lucas, grief, bereavement, protest, anger, loss, grief theory
Books and theories about loss and grief abound. from academics and practitioners who write about frameworks to bereaved persons who write about their own experiences, the literature on loss and grief is replete with information about the phenomenon. So, why examine yet one more theoretical explanation? Is there anything left to be said about this common yet unique human experience?
This conceptual article examines a theoretical perspective on loss and grief with direction about mourning practices from a scholar/practitioner who has been dead for 20 years. It goes beyond an explanation of the theory to answer the question: So what? The salient point about grief theory is the meaning it has for people who are bereaved and how that guides the work of mourning. The work of Alan Keith-Lucas includes a provocative theory of grief that I have taught for almost three decades. Students and graduates through the years have embraced the framework and used it in their practices with clients, coming back repeatedly with anecdotal stories of successful application results. This has particularly been true for students who are interested in the integration of their faith and social work practice. Dr Keith-Lucas' grief theory is based in his theological premise that effective helping depends on three factors: reality, empathy, and support (Keith-Lucas, 1987). Exploring helping in grief from...