Bereavement is the natural human reaction to the death of a significant other. Often the experience of the bereaved person is denied expression in the social context. The aim of this thesis is to examine what it means to have one's bereavement denied by others. The relevant literature was reviewed. Theories which have both reflected and influenced the way the bereaved are perceived in contemporary western society have been discussed. The historical background to changing attitudes towards death was described and the reasons for the "denial of death" were examined . The narcissistic personality in particular was considered . Using the Phenomenological method, a question was formulated to elicit the lived structure of the experience being researched. This was asked of thirteen voluntary subjects who had experienced the denial of their bereavement by others. Five written answers (protocols) were chosen and explicated. The lived structure of the experience can be described as "a profound and fundamental distancing of the world of the bereaved from the world of others." The implications of this for the bereaved person, bereavement support groups, health care professionals, future research and society as a whole were then critically discussed .

Submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Community Psychology) in the Department of Psychology at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2000. / Loss through death is an inevitable part of life. Not only does it separate families from their loved ones; it also threatens community cohesion and solidarity. In most cultures, the painful road from loss to healing concerns not only the immediate family, but the community at large. In other words, grief is a shared experience. The disposal of the dead and the accompanying mourning rituals are a social, if not a public affair. Though it is never solicited, support subsequent to bereavement is expected from friends, relatives, and the community at large. This is well expressed in the Zulu poetic saying, "umuntu umuntu nga bantu/" (broadly translated as ''Only through you do I become"). Community psychology as a discipline cannot afford to give casual attention to alternative support services offered in communities, including, grief counselling. This study therefore explores community intervention practices in grief counselling. The research seeks to clarify the experiences of people who experience grief with the objective of understanding how they are supported. Grief counselling, as practised in communities in this study, has been found to be an informed process. It takes the bereaved step-by-step from the initial stage of informing them about the death, through the shock and denial and ushers them into the awareness of loss phase. Burial ceremonies accentuate the departure of the deceased from among the living, while they also offer solace, support and solidarity to the bereaved as they are confronted with the reality of death. Not much was found to be done in terms of post-burial support except for the purification rites and traditional inquests with healers and prophets. Of the ten participants that were interviewed, eight attributed the death of their loved ones to bewitchment. The wearing of mourning clothes marked the transitional period and facilitated for the withdrawal of the bereaved for purposes of their healing over time. This transitional period culminated into the re¬incorporation celebration. This progression has, as delineated above, been recommended to form guidelines for the development of a psycho-educational grief counselling programme in order to recycle resources.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Educational Psychology in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2015. / This dissertation aims to use Appreciative Inquiry to evaluate a grief programme offered in primary schools. A qualitative technique was used to gain information from three groups of stakeholders within the grief programme, namely educators, facilitators and children. Three open-ended questions were asked to ascertain the value and benefits the grief programme held in the participants’ opinions. Participants were also asked to consider improvements which the programme co-ordinators should contemplate for future development. The results of the research will be circulated to all relevant stakeholders in the form of a written report and at a consultation. The final analysis indicated that the grief programme is held in high regard by all the participants. The following nine key themes were identified: healing, insight, relationships, growth, skills, support, enjoyment, collaboration, and value of the programme and enhanced efficacy of the grief programme. All three groups of stakeholders noted the positive outcomes that resulted from participation, both during and after, in the grief programme. Recommendations were also noted so that the programme could be propelled positively into the future as there is a dire need for programmes of this nature to be implemented in schools throughout South Africa.

As the world's largest social networking site, Facebook, continues to grow in popularity, it is imperative for counselors and counselor educators to better understand how online environments impact all facets of life, including death. Grief behaviors on Facebook have been a focus of scholars since the launch of the social networking site in 2004. Researchers have demonstrated that Facebook memorial pages have a significant impact on the social and cultural practices related to death and memorialization for Facebook users. However, despite a rapid rise in research related to online mourning, researchers have yet been able to establish the potential risk or benefit of engaging in online memorial pages and continuing bonds with the deceased. The purpose of this study was to increase understanding of the relationship between participation in Facebook memorial pages and grief symptom severity and persistence for adults living in the United States who have experienced the death loss of a friend or family member since 2009. The continuing bonds theory was used to guide the foundation of this study and interpret findings. Using online survey methods, data was collected from 225 Facebook users. Results of a multiple regression revealed no relationship between Facebook memorial page participation and grief severity but demonstrated a statistically significant relationship between Facebook memorial page participation and grief persistence. These findings are crucial to aiding social change related to an expansion of counselor awareness of the cultural implications of online mourning and the influence virtual mourning may have on appropriate diagnosis of grief related disorders.

In today's death industry, many standard burial practices inhibit decomposition and ensure that land used for cemeteries has little ability for adaptation or improved ecological health of the site. Western culture has increasingly disconnected itself from death, often ignoring the inevitable until it is too late and making grief and mourning an isolating endeavor. This thesis seeks to address issues of climate and social resilience in death spaces, as well as creating an architecture that relieves the fear and disconnection to death and the mourning process prevalent in our society. The site is the former coal storage field of the Alexandria Power Generation Station in North Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia. The power plant was shut down in 2012, and has sat unoccupied, in part because pollution from the power plant has depleted soil nutrients and created a brownfield site. In this project, practices like Natural Organic Reduction (NOR), natural burial, and grave renewal are used to develop an adaptive site condition that embraces change and quite literally continues to build upon itself over time. Using the composted material from NOR on site will help restore the ecological health of the site by diluting the contaminated soil and create a method of phased layering to prevent overcrowding or filling up of burial plots. The architecture is designed to celebrate the natural processes of death, and to embrace the mourning process for those still living. As the visitor enters the building, they leave the "land of the living" and descend into the ground. As they travel through the building, natural light is gradually reintroduced to the interior spaces, and the visitor literally and metaphorically rises back out of the ground, as a symbol of healing and relief from their grief. Ceremonial spaces provide extensive views out over the site to connect both with the beautiful scenery of the Potomac River and the burial grounds surrounding the building, demonstrating a body's natural return to the earth after death. / Master of Architecture / In today's death industry, many standard burial practices inhibit decomposition and prevent sustainable land use of cemeteries. Western culture has increasingly disconnected itself from death, often ignoring the inevitable until it is too late and making grief and mourning an isolating endeavor. This thesis seeks to address issues of climate and social resilience in death spaces, as well as creating an architectural design that relieves the fear and disconnection to death and the mourning process prevalent in our society. The site is the former coal storage field of the Alexandria Power Generation Station in North Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia. The power plant was shut down in 2012, and has sat unoccupied, in part because pollution from the power plan has depleted soil nutrients and created a brownfield site. In this project, practices like Natural Organic Reduction (NOR), natural burial, and grave renewal are used to develop an adaptive site condition that embraces change and a more sustainable method of death care. Composted material from NOR used on site will help restore its ecological heath by diluting contaminated soil and creating a method of phased layering to prevent overcrowding or filling up of burial plots. The architecture is designed to celebrate the natural processes of death, and embrace the mourning process for those still living by providing views out over the site to connect with the beautiful scenery of the Potomac River and the burial grounds surrounding the building, demonstrating the body's natural return to the earth after death.

A collection of poetry concerned with loss and the act of creation.

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