Continuing Bonds in Bereavement ― New Directions for Research and Practice

The introduction of the continuing bonds model of grief near the end of the 20^th century revolutionized the way researchers and practitioners understand bereavement. Continuing Bonds in Bereavement is the most comprehensive, state-of-the-art collection of developments in this field since the inception of the model. As a multi-perspectival, nuanced, and forward-looking anthology, it combines innovations in clinical practice with theoretical and empirical advancements. The text traces grief in different cultural settings, asking questions about the truth in our interactions with the dead and showing how new cultural developments like social media change the ways we relate to those who have died. Together, the book’s four sections encourage practitioners and scholars in both bereavement studies and in other fields to broaden their understanding of the concept of continuing bonds.

Dennis Klass, PhD, is on the editorial boards of Death Studies and Omega: Journal of Death and Dying and is professor emeritus at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. He is the author of The Spiritual Lives of Bereaved Parents, coauthor of Dead but not Lost: Grief Narratives in Religious Traditions, and coeditor of Continuing Bonds: New Understandings of Grief. A licensed psychologist, he has been active in the study of death, dying, and bereavement since 1968.

Edith Maria Steffen, PsychD, is a lecturer in counseling psychology at the University of Roehampton, London, UK. Her research focuses on sense of presence experiences in bereavement and meaning-oriented group grief therapy. She has published articles in journals such as Death Studies, Omega: Journal of Death and Dying, and Mental Health, Religion & Culture, and has contributed a number of chapters to anthologies.