A qualitative study of companion animal loss and grief resolution
Abstract (summary)
The purpose of this study was to gain knowledge about the grief resolution process of bereaved pet owners. Most studies on the grieving process have outlined the stages through which the bereaved goes until the final stage of letting go of the attachment to the deceased and reinvesting that energy in new relationships. Studies regarding pet loss bereavement have been focused on the similarities of grief over the loss of a person and grief over the loss of a pet. These studies have been based on the model of grief espoused by the positivist view of stages of grief and the concept of working through to resolution. This study has taken a postpositivist perspective, and looks at bereaved pet owners' journeys through the grief experience and questions whether or not resolution has to mean letting go of the relationship attachment to the deceased. The method employed in this study was a qualitative, heuristic, descriptive model. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
Indexing (details)
Psychotherapy;
School counseling;
Clinical psychology
0622: Clinical psychology