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Turkowski P: Neuro-Linguistic Perspective of Long- and Short-Term Psychotherapy of Grief. Theoretical Background, Method and Case-Studies.
Journal of Experiential Psychotherapy 21(1): 12-23, 2018.
Abstract: Grief and loss are topics that appear quite often in psychotherapy. They have always been present in people's lives through culture and religion. Existential ideas (Yalom, 1999; Frankl, 2008) and the ideas of Elizabeth Kubler-Ross (1969) are quite common in the psychotherapy of people in mourning.
This article shows a neuro-linguistic model of work with loss and grief. It draws from the assumptions of neuro-linguistic psychotherapy (NLPt) and is inspired by contemporary research on effectiveness (Milman, 2013; Hall, 2014). The “4 steps for handling bereavement and loss” were developed as a result of modelling of successful mourning processes and modelling of psychotherapeutic activities aimed at supporting people in mourning, developed in the constructivist and narrative trends (Marwit, Klass, 1996; Gillies, Neimeyer, 2005; Fuller, 2009; Stroebe, 1997; Walter, 1996; Gillies, Neimeyer) taken by the people working with the NLPt approach (Witt et all, 2011).
This paper presents the assumptions of the model, theoretical background, models and tools, 2 case studies and conclusions on the applicability of the model in psychotherapy of clients reporting various symptoms.
The cases discussed illustrate its usefulness in both short-term and long-term therapeutic processes. A short-term, structured, 5-session intervention led to measurable changes described by the client and his family. In a long-term psychotherapy of a person suffering from bereavement for a person who, during life, evoked ambivalent feelings and traumatic issues in relationship, there were observed several positive changes (also at the level of personality) and personal growth.
The model shows potential at supporting people in bereavement and as a practical set of techniques and it allows working in a form similar to crisis intervention and undertaking deeper work at the level of personality disorders.
Corresponding author: Przemysław Turkowski, Polish Society for Neuro-Linguistic Psychotherapy, Section of Research and Science; BetterFLOW.pl, email: przemek@betterflow.pl
