Robert A. Neimeyer

Barbara E. Thompson

The use of the arts in psychotherapy is a burgeoning area of interest, particularly in the field of bereavement, where it is a staple intervention in hospice programs, children’s grief camps, specialized programs for trauma or combat exposure, work with bereaved parents, widowed elders or suicide survivors, and in many other contexts. But how should clinicians differentiate between the many different approaches and techniques, and what criteria should they use to decide which technique to use—and when? Grief and the Expressive Arts provides the answers using a crisp, coherent structure that creates a conceptual and relational scaffold for an artistically inclined grief therapy. Each of the book’s brief chapters is accessible and clearly focused, conveying concrete methods and anchoring them in brief case studies, across a range of approaches featuring music, creative writing, visual arts, dance and movement, theatre and performance and multi-modal practices. Any clinician—expressive arts therapist, grief counselor, or something in between—looking for a professionally oriented but scientifically informed book for guidance and inspiration need look no further than Grief and the Expressive Arts.

Practices for Creating Meaning

Grief and the Expressive Arts

Nancy Gershman

Prescriptive Memories in Grief and Loss: The Art of Dreamscaping introduces a wide range of therapists to a novel, strengths-based and imaginal practice for helping clients at various points on the grief and loss continuum. Grounded in recent empirical research on how the emotional brain encodes new memories, this book describes how to create a resource-rich "prescriptive memory." Chapters by internationally recognized authors explore the theory and application of dreamscaping from a transdisciplinary perspective, including protocols for use with individuals and groups and guidelines for collaboration with other therapists and professionals. Illustrated with full-color dreamscape images co-created by clients and therapists, this is an exciting and innovative guidebook to a new method for cultivating hope and promoting restoration and growth.

Barbara E. Thompson

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