Configurations of Time in Bereaved Parents’ Narratives

Abstract

In this study, we examined the configurations of time within narratives of bereaved Israeli parents, employing Gadamer's hermeneutic philosophy as the research methodology. Our results reveal that following a sudden violent loss, parents experienced a change in their sense of time. Three nonexclusive time possibilities were evident in the participants' narratives: time stopped, time moved forward, and time moved backward. Although most of the social science literature highlights the importance of linear temporal configuration to enhance the coherence of text, based on our study we call for other forms of temporal ordering, as varied time configurations were used by the bereaved and were perceived to have beneficial outcomes. Finally, we outline implications for mental health professionals.

Ideological Meaning Making After the Loss of a Child: The Case of Israeli Bereaved Parents

“…Specifically, assessments could focus on the ability of individuals to construct and use coexisting contradictory or supplementary narratives, as a measure of their ability to cope with loss and find meaning in it. It may be that the emphasis found in the current therapeutic literature (Barak & Leichtentritt, 2014), which strives for a single coherent narrative, will aggravate difficulties in the bereavement process, as challenges in different spheres of life (as demonstrated in this study) cannot be addressed by one narrative. This research was limited to self-selected respondents who write poetry.…”

Life Restoration and Future Care Preparation Among Older Parents in Shanghai Who Have Lost Their Only Adult Child

“…Participants' low motivation to prepare for future care was also related to the interruption of their life events (Wheeler, 2001); their original future care plans were interrupted by the death of their only adult child. This interruption reconstructed their conceptualization of time (Barak & Leichtentritt, 2014). They chose to pause and procrastinate; that is, their perception of the time for future care was "on hold."…”

Meaning-making process related to temporality during breast cancer traumatic experience: The clinical use of narrative to promote a new continuity of life

“…Temporality is a basic and constituent dimension of human existence; everything is developed and signified in a time frame (Barak & Leichtentritt, 2014; Brockmeier, 2000; Broom & Tovey, 2008; Carr, Teucher, & Casson, 2014). A complex interplay of dynamic processes with multilayered meanings (biological, psychological, subjective, cultural, and social) guides an individual’s perceptual-cognitive phenomena, actions, social relationships, and life choices (Sato & Valsiner, 2010; Tronick, 2009).…”

“…These new semiotic connections do not imply that they are the best in terms of integration; however, the formation of these connections is a resynchronization process with the illness and with the continuity and discontinuity of life where different configurations of time can coexist (Barak & Leichtentritt, 2014). The narration of trauma associated with breast cancer indicates a temporal perspective crisis and is semiotically significant in the search for connections aimed at constructing a time of illness and reducing the illness of time.…”