Grief and culture

Abstract

All groups have a culture. This article is intended to help the bereavement practitioner better understand the support needs of clients from other cultures. It sets out and explains a simple checklist of questions designed to explore cultural practices and attitudes to grief and bereavement. The questions cover the obligations mourners feel towards the dead and towards society; who should be mourned; what should be done with the dead; what should be done with emotions; the inclusion or exclusion of mourners from society, and the role of religion. Practitioners need also to be aware of their own cultural assumptions about grief and bereavement, and to observe and listen to what the client is telling them.

Keywords:

• Grief
• bereavement
• culture
• assumptions
• emotions
• religion