Meaning Reconstruction in the Wake of Loss: Evolution of a Research Program

Abstract

As theories of bereavement have evolved, so too have evidence-based interventions to mitigate complications in post-loss adaptation. This article reviews one line of programmatic research grounded in a conceptualisation of grieving as an attempt to reaffirm or reconstruct a world of meaning challenged by loss. Anchored in therapeutic encounters with the bereaved, a meaning reconstruction approach to loss has grown over the past 15 years to generate an increasingly substantial research base, as well as to develop and refine a wide array of contributions to psychological assessment and therapy. By summarising the major models, measures and methods resulting from this collaborative work, it offers an introduction to meaning reconstruction for those unfamiliar with it, noting its contributions to date, its areas of future development, and its relevance for clinical practice.

What aspects of post-traumatic growth are experienced by bereaved parents? A systematic review

“…Furthermore, this review supports the importance of models of grief which account for adaptation (e.g. Dual Process Model of Bereavement, Stroebe & Schut, 1999; Meaning Reconstruction Model of Bereavement, Neimeyer, 2016). …”

Prolonged grief symptomatology following violent loss: the mediating role of meaning

“…Specifically, the emotionally evocative details of the violent death story are reviewed in order to examine and address how it has challenged the orienting system of the bereft (Neimeyer, 2016; Neimeyer, Milman, & Steffen, in press; Rheingold et al, 2015; Rynearson & Correa, 2008; Rynearson & Salloum, 2011). This focus on the ‘event story’ of the death takes place in coordination with cognitive-constructivist (e.g.…”

“…Neimeyer, 2012) and experiential (e.g. Milman, 2014) techniques that encourage the formation of a continuing bond by drawing on the ‘back story’ of the relationship with the deceased (Neimeyer, 2016; Neimeyer et al, in press). In other words, meaning-oriented interventions build distress tolerance as a precursor to a clinical process that targets meaning making related to both the death story and the relationship with the deceased.…”

“…Meaning-oriented protocols make it possible to take advantage of such population-specific resiliency factors by exploring diverse sources of meaning (Neimeyer, 2016; Neimeyer et al, in press), including spirituality (Doka, 2012; Pearce & Smigelsky, 2015), artistic endeavours (Thompson & Neimeyer, 2014), family (Hooghe & Neimeyer, 2013), community (Murphy & Neimeyer, 2014; Smigelsky et al, 2016), and legacy work commemorating the deceased (Hochberg, 2012). This flexibility enables clinicians to foster a sense of peace regarding the death event and a continuing bond with the deceased in a manner that is compatible with the resources and protective factors that are accessible to diverse violently bereft populations.…”

“…This orienting system fosters a sense of meaning regarding the daily events individuals experience and their evolving life narrative (Kelly, 1955; Neimeyer, 2006a, 2016). However, death-related loss can challenge the orienting system of the bereft leading them to engage in meaning making (Park, 2010; Park & Folkman, 1997).…”