Thanatology Midterm

Jackson's definition of counseling

Any time someone helps someone else with a problem.

Ohlsen's definition of counseling

A therapeutic experience for reasonably healthy persons. A counselor's clients are encouraged to seek assistance before they develop serious neurotic, psychotic, or characterological disorders.

Roger's definition of counseling

Good communication within and between men; or good (free) communication within or between men is always therapeutic.

Webster's definition of counseling

Advice, especially that given as a result of consultation.

Denial

The defense mechanism by which a person is unable to or refuses to see things as they are because such facts are threatening to the self.

Directive counseling

The counselor takes an active speaking role, asking questions, suggesting courses of action.

Displacement

Redirecting feelings toward a person or object other than one who caused the feelings originally.

Empathy

(Wolfelt) The ability to perceive another's experience and communicate that perception back to the person.

Encoding Memory

Converting information into a form that can be entered into memory.

Genuiness

(Wolfelt) The ability to present oneself sincerely.

Grief

An emotion or set of emotions due to loss.

Mourning

The outward expression of grief.

Bereavement

The act or event of separation or loss that results in the experience of grief.

Guilt

Blame directed toward one's self based on real or unreal conditions.

Shame

Blame that is perceived to be directed toward one's self by others.

Schools of psychological thought:

Functionalism Psychological Perspective;Biological Psychological Perspective;Structuralism Psychological Perspective;Behaviorism Psychological Perspective; Humanistic Psychological Perspective;Socio-cultural Psychological Perspective

Functionalism Psychological Perspective

The school of psychological thought which proposed that the function, not the structure, of conscious experience should be studied.

Biological Psychological Perspective

The school of psychological thought in which all of our behaviors can be traced to the biological functions of the brain. Therefore most of our behaviors are caused by the chemicals of our physical body.

Structuralism Psychological Perspective

The school of psychological thought that is concerned with reducing experience to its basic parts, determining the laws by which the parts are synthesized and investigating the structure and content of mental state by introspection.

Behaviorism Psychological Perspective

The school of psychological thought that views learning as the most important aspect of an organism's development; Seeks to objectively measure behavior and the way in which stimulus-response relationships are formed.

Humanistic Psychological Perspective

A school of psychological thought that emphasizes the uniqueness of the individual and the search for self-actualization.

Socio-cultural Psychological Perspective

The school of psychological thought that is concerned with how one interacts with society and how society and the culture impact a person.

Paraphrasing

Expressing a thought or idea in an alternate and sometimes shortened form.

Post-funeral counseling/ Post-need counseling/ Aftercare

Those appropriate and helpful acts of counseling that come after the funeral.

Prejudice

Having a negative attitude towards others based on their gender, religion, race, or membership in a particular group.

Projection

Attribution of one's unacceptable thoughts, feelings, or behaviors to someone else.

Rapport

A relation of harmony established in any human interaction.

Rationalization

Supplying a logical, acceptable reason rather than the real reason for an action.

Regression

Returning to more familiar and often more primitive modes of coping.

Repression

Blocking of threatening material from consciousness.

Who developed client-centered (person-centered) counseling?

Carl Rogers

Client-centered (person-centered) counseling

A non-directive method of counseling which stresses the inherent worth of the client and the natural capacity for growth and health.

Social facilitation

Occurs when an individual's performance improves because of the presence of others.

Sublimation

Redirection of emotion to culturally or socially useful purpose. (Ex: M.A.D.D)

Thanatology

The study of death, dying, bereavement, and mourning.

Thanatophobia

An irrational, exaggerated fear of death.

Cognition

A term referring to the mental processes involved in gaining knowledge and comprehension. These processes include thinking, knowing, remembering, judging and problem-solving.

Clinical psychology

The field of psychology which is designed to understand, diagnose and treat abnormal or deviant behavior.

Behaviorism

The theory that human and animal behavior can be explained in terms of conditioning, without appeal to thoughts or feelings, and that psychological disorders are best treated by altering behavior patterns. (See Behaviorism Psychological Perspective)

Attending

Giving undivided attention by means of verbal and non-verbal behavior (i.e; listening).

Attachment Theory (Bowlby)

The tendency to make strong affectional bonds with others coming from the need for security and safety.

Who was credited with the attachment theory?

Bowlby

At-Need counseling

A funeral director consulting with the family from the time the death occurs until the final disposition.

Anger

Blame directed towards another person.

What is the difference between client-centered, person-centered, and rogerian counseling?

There is no difference.

Aggression

The intentional infliction of physical or psychological harm on another.

Two Factor Theory

Hertzberg believed that there were 2 main factors that governed human motivation (Maintenance and Motivational). If the Maintenance goals are not achieved, the individual (employee) would experience a level of dissatisfaction. Once the Maintenance goals are achieved, the employee can work toward the Motivational goals which cause the individual to excel in the given area. (Maintenance Ex: A FD experiencing financial difficulties because of a family illness.) (Motivational Ex: A FD has a goal to give each family the opportunity to memorialize their loved one in an individual manner.)

Defense mechanisms

An often unconscious mental process used to defend against anxiety. Ex:Displacement; (ex: A golfer spending 5 hours hitting golf balls on a golf course.) Sublimation; Projection; Reaction formation; Regression; Repression; Denial

Which kind of need is being met if a person buys a new BMW and displays it in his/her driveway?

Esteem

Which need is being met by a person receiving attention from others?

Love & belonging

Which level of Maslow's hierarchy of needs has a person achieved if he/she has become everything they're capable of becoming?

Self-Actualization

Where on the hierarchy of needs would you find food/water?

Physiological

List the type of defense mechanism: After Sally's mother was murdered, Sally had thoughts about killing the suspect. When asked by reporters how the family was doing, she stated that her brother had been talking about killing the suspect.

Projection

List the type of defense mechanism: After the loss of his partner, a police officer begins provoking fist fights and speeding on the highway.

Reaction formation

List the type of defense mechanism: After a siblings death, a 14 year old boy is found hiding in the closet in the fetal position.

Regression

List the type of defense mechanism: At the funeral of his son, the father would not allow himself or anyone else to say that his boy had died.

Repression

Who is credited with Theory X and Theory Y?

McGregor

Who is credited with the Two Factor Theory?

Hertzburg

Reaction formation

A defensive mechanism by which people behave in a way opposite to what their true but anxiety-provoking feelings would dictate. An example is a competitive athlete who chooses to sit out a game, match or meet to prevent a potentially disheartening failure.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

1 Physiological Needs

2. Safety Needs
3. Love and Belongingness Needs
4. Esteem Needs
5. Self Actualization Needs

McGregor's Theory X and Theory Y

McGregor believed that employers use one of 2 different motivational styles. For progress to be made, the motivational style of the employee must be matched by the motivational style of the employer.

Motivational factors

(Hertzburg) Cause the individual to excel in the given area. These results come from internal generators of an employee.

Maintenance (Hygiene) factors

(Hertzburg) Needed to ensure that an employee does not become dissatisfied. They do not lead to higher levels of motivation, but without them there is dissatisfaction.

Theory X

Believes employees are lazy and only concerned for money.

Theory Y

Believes that employees will excel if given the right environment and opportunities.

Theory Z

This motivational theory began in Japan and is an extension of Theory Y. It states that employees are more motivated if they actively participate in decision-making at ALL levels of the organization.

Who is credited with the 4 Tasks of Mourning?

Worden

(4) Tasks of Mourning:

Worden)

- To accept the reality of the loss.

- To work through to the pain of grief.

- To adjust to an environment in which the deceased is missing.

- To emotionally relocate the deceased and move on with life.

Who is credited with the 5 Stages of Grief?

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross

5 Stages of Grief

(Kubler-Ross)
Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance

(DABDA)

Lindemann's 5 characteristics of grief:

- Somatic (bodily) distress of some type.
- Preoccupation with the image of the deceased.
- Guilt relating to the deceased or circumstances of the death.
- Hostile reactions.
- Inability to function as one had before the loss

Who created "Grief Syndrome"?

Lindemann

Stages of Grief (lindemann)

(Lindemann)

1- Accepting the loss as a definite fact.

2- Adjusting to life without the deceased/ adjusting to the environment in which the deceased is no longer living.

3- Forming new relationships in the world.

List the 4 categories of Manifestations of Grief

Feelings & Physical Sensations; Cognitions; Behaviors.

Feelings that may manifest themselves during grief

Sadness, anger, guilt & self-reproach, anxiety, loneliness, fatigue, helplessness, shock, yearning, emancipation, relief, numbness.

Normal behaviors that may manifest themselves during grief

Sleep disturbances; appetite disturbances; absentminded behavior; social withdrawal; dreams of the deceased; avoiding reminders of the deceased; searching; calling out.

Who is credited with development of the 6 Mourning Reconciliation Needs

Wolfelt

Mourning Reconciliation Needs: (Wolfelt)

1. Embrace the pain of the loss

2. Remember the deceased

3. Search for meaning

Crisis counseling

Interventions which help individuals in a crisis situation.

Psychotherapy

(Jackson) Intervention with people whose needs are so specific that usually they can only be met by specially trained physicians or psychologists. The practitioners in this field need special training because they often work with deeper levels of consciousness.

Informational counseling

Counseling in which a counselor shares a body of special information with a counselee.

Situational counseling

Counseling related to specific situations in life that may have created crises and produced human pain and suffering.

When is the best time for a counselor to contact a family after the funeral?

1 week after the funeral

Leading

Anticipating where the person is going and responding with an appropriate encouraging remark. This done by the funeral director is slightly anticipating the person's direction of thought as a method of stimulating conversation.

Perception checking

Asking for feedback about the accuracy of your listening; Checking that an understanding is taking place with the other person.

Informing

The sharing of facts possessed by the funeral director and providing information that will allow the person to make an informed decision.

Clarifying

The process of bringing vague content in the interaction into clearer focus or understanding; Goes beyond paraphrasing because you make a guess about the person's basic message and restate it.

Questioning

A method of gaining information and increasing understanding.

Summarizing

A method of tying together several ideas and feelings at the end of the arrangement conference.

Reflecting feelings

When you express in fresh words the essential feelings, stated or strongly implied, of the person; Expressing in fewer and different words the essential feelings that have been expressed.

Mediators of Mourning (other factors that influence the grief process):

1. Who the person is who died (death of a spouse)
2. The Nature of the Attachment (2 lifelong friends)
3. How the person Died (suicide)
4. Historical Antecedents
5. Personality Variables (anxiety)
6. Social Variables (moving to a new area and not having anyone to go to the FH with)
7. Concurrent Stresses
8. Coping with Extraneous Stresses

4 Phases of Grief (bowlby & parkes)

Shock and numbness- Family members find it difficult to believe the death; they feel stunned and numb.

Yearning and searching- Survivors experience separation anxiety and cannot accept the reality of the loss. They try to find and bring back the lost person and feel ongoing frustration and disappointment when this is not possible.

Disorganization and despair- Family members feel depressed and find it difficult to plan for the future. They are easily distracted and have difficulty concentrating and focusing.

Reorganization & Recovery- Your faith in life starts to be restored. You establish new goals and patterns of day-to-day life. Slowly you start to rebuild and you come to realize that your life can still be positive, even after the loss.

Barriers to Effective Communication (6):

1. Funeral Director Dominance
2. Bombarding with Questions
3. Inappropriate Self-Disclosure
4. Offering Platitudes or False Reassurance
5. Discouraging the Expression of Emotions and Tears
6. Emotional Distancing