An expressive arts approach to healing loss and grief : working across the spectrum of loss with individuals and communities / Irene Renzenbrink ; foreword by Stephen K. Levine. eBook

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

1 Historical and theoretical milestones: on the shoulders of giants -- 2 Historical and theoretical milestones: paradigm shifts and new directions -- 3 The evolution of expressive arts therapy -- 4 The healing power of an expressive arts approach -- 5 So many little dyings: working across the spectrum of loss -- 6 Illuminating loss and grief through poetry, metaphor, and story -- 7 To leave is to die a little: loss of home and place -- 8 On death and dying: 'The wilder shore of illness' -- 9 Creative responses to disaster -- 10 Repairing the world.

Drawing on expertise in both expressive arts and grief counselling, this book highlights the use of expressive arts therapeutic methods in confronting and healing grief and bereavement. Establishing a link between these two approaches, it widens our understanding of loss and grief. With personal and professional insight, Renzenbrink illuminates the healing and restorative power of creative arts therapies, as well as addressing the impact of communion with others and the role that expressive arts can play in community change. Covering a broad understanding of grief, the discussion incorporates migration and losing one's home, chronic illness and natural disasters, highlighting the breadth of types of loss and widening our perceptions of this. Grief specialists are given imaginative and nourishing tools to incorporate into their practice and better support their clients. An invaluable resource to expand understanding of grief and explore the power of expressive arts to heal both communities and individuals.-- Source other than the Library of Congress.