Advanced search
Publication Cover
Death Studies Volume 43, 2019 - Issue 2: Special Issue on Meaning Reconstruction in Bereavement
Submit an article Journal homepage
6,245
Views
71
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Meaning reconstruction in bereavement: Development of a research program

Robert A. NeimeyerDepartment of Psychology, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USACorrespondence[email protected]
Pages 79-91 | Published online: 25 Mar 2019

References

  • Bellet, B. W., Holland, J., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2018). The social meaning in life events scale (SMILES): A preliminary psychometric evaluation in a bereaved sample. Death Studies, 1. this issue.
  • Bellet, B. W., Neimeyer, R. A., & Berman, J. S. (2017). Event centrality and bereavement symptomatology: The moderating role of meaning made. Omega, in Press.
  • Bonanno, G. A. (2009). The other side of sadness. New York: Basic.
  • Bottomley, J. S., Smigelsky, M. A., Bellet, B. W., Flynn, L., Price, J., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2018). Distinguishing the meaning making processes of survivors of suicide loss: An expansion of the meaning of loss codebook. Death Studies, 42, 69–78.
  • Breen, L., Karangoda, M., Kaine, R. T., Howting, D. A., & Aoun, S. M. (2017). Differences in meanings made according to prolonged grief symptomatology. Death Studies, in press.
  • Burke, L. A., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2014). Spiritual distress in bereavement: Evolution of a research program. Religions, 5, 1087–1115.
  • Burke, L., Neimeyer, R. A., Bottomley, J. S., & Smigelsky, M. A. (2017). Prospective risk factors for intense grief in family members of Veterans who died of terminal illness. Illness, Crisis & Loss, in press.
  • Burke, L. A., Clark, K. A., Ali, K. S., Gibson, B. W., Smigelsky, M. A., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2015). Risk factors for anticipatory grief in family members of terminally ill veterans receiving palliative care services. Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life and Palliative Care, 11, 244–266. doi:10.1080/15524256.2015.1110071
  • Burke, L. A., Neimeyer, R. A., Holland, J. M., Dennard, S., Oliver, L., & Shear, M. K. (2014). Inventory of complicated spiritual grief: Development and validation of a new measure. Death Studies, 38, 239–250. doi:10.1080/07481187.2013.810098
  • Burke, L. A., Neimeyer, R. A., McDevitt-Murphy, M. E., Ippolito, M. R., & Roberts, J. M. (2011). Faith in the wake of homicide: Spiritual crisis and bereavement distress in an African American sample. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 21, 289–307.
  • Burke, L. A., Neimeyer, R. A., Young, A. J., Bonin, E. P., & Davis, N. L. (2014). Complicated spiritual grief II: A deductive inquiry following the loss of a loved one. Death Studies, 38, 268–281. doi:10.1080/07481187.2013.829373
  • Coleman, R. A., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2010). Measuring meaning: Searching for and making sense of spousal loss in late-life. Death Studies, 34, 804–834.
  • Correa, F. (2016). Drawing images of violent death. In R. A. Neimeyer (Ed.), Techniques of grief therapy: Assessment and intervention (pp. 256–258). New York: Routledge.
  • Currier, J. M., Holland, J. M., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2006). Sense-making, grief, and the experience of violent loss: toward a mediational model. Death Studies, 30, 403–428.
  • Currier, J. M., Neimeyer, R. A., & Berman, J. S. (2008). The effectiveness of psychotherapeutic interventions for the bereaved: A comprehensive quantitative review. Psychological Bulletin, 134, 648–661.
  • Davis, C. G., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2001). Loss and meaning: How do people make sense of loss? American Behavioral Scientist, 44, 726–741.
  • Davis, C. G., Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Larson, J. (1998). Making sense of loss and benefiting from the experience: Two construals of meaning. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 561–574.
  • Galatzer-Levy, I. R., & Bonanno, G. A. (2012). Beyond normality in the study of bereavement: Heterogeneity in depression outcomes following loss in older adults. Social Science & Medicine, 74, 1987–1994. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.02.022
  • Gamino, L. (2012). Opening the family photo album. In R. A. Neimeyer (Ed.), Techniques of grief therapy (pp. 231–233). New York: Routledge.
  • Gendlin, E. (1996). Focusing oriented psychotherapy. New York: Guilford.
  • Gillies, J., Neimeyer, R. A., & Milman, E. (2014). The meaning of loss codebook: Construction of a system for analyzing meanings made in bereavement. Death Studies, 38, 207–216. doi:10.1080/07481187.2013.829367
  • Gillies, J., Neimeyer, R. A., & Milman, E. (2015). The grief and meaning reconstruction inventory: Initial validation of a new measure. Death Studies, 39, 61–74.
  • Greenberg, L. S. (2010). Emotion focused psychotherapy. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
  • Hedtke, L. (2012). Introducing the deceased. In R. A. Neimeyer (Ed.), Techniques of grief therapy: Creative practices for counseling the bereaved (pp. 253–255). New York: Routledge.
  • Holland, J. M., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2011). Separation and traumatic distress in prolonged grief: The role of cause of death and relationship to the deceased. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 33, 254–263.
  • Holland, J. M., Currier, J. M., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2006). Meaning reconstruction in the first two years of bereavement: The role of sense-making and benefit-finding. Omega – Journal of Death and Dying, 53, 175–191.
  • Holland, J. M., Currier, J. M., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2014). Validation of the integration of stressful life experiences scale-short form in a bereaved sample. Death Studies, 38, 234–238. doi:10.1080/07481187.2013.829369
  • Holland, J. M., Currier, J. M., Coleman, R. A., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2010). The integration of stressful life experiences scale (ISLES): Development and initial validation of a new measure. International Journal of Stress Management, 17, 325–352.
  • Holland, J. M., Neimeyer, R. A., Boelen, P. A., & Prigerson, H. G. (2009). The underlying structure of grief: A taxometric investigation of prolonged and normal reactions to loss. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 31, 190–201.
  • Janoff-Bulman, R., & Berger, A. R. (2000). The other side of trauma. In J. H. Harvey & E. D. Miller (Eds.), Loss and trauma. Philadelphia: Brunner Mazel.
  • Jordan, J. R. (2012). Guided imaginal conversations with the deceased. In R. A. Neimeyer (Ed.), Techniques of grief therapy (pp. 262–265). New York: Routledge.
  • Keesee, N. J., Currier, J. M., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2008). Predictors of grief following the death of one’s child: The contribution of finding meaning. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 64, 1145–1163.
  • Kelly, G. A. (1955). The psychology of personal constructs. New York: Norton.
  • Lichtenthal, W. G., & Cruess, D. G. (2010). Effects of directed written disclosure on grief and distress symptoms among bereaved individuals. Death Studies, 34, 475–499.
  • Lichtenthal, W. G., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2012). Directed journaling to facilitate meaning making. In R. A. Neimeyer (Ed.), Techniques of grief therapy (pp. 161–164). New York: Routledge.
  • Lichtenthal, W. G., Burke, L. A., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2011). Religious coping and meaning-making following the loss of a loved one. Counseling and Spirituality, 30, 113–136.
  • Lichtenthal, W. G., Currier, J. M., Neimeyer, R. A., & Keesee, N. J. (2010). Sense and significance: A mixed methods examination of meaning-making following the loss of one’s child. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 66, 791–812.
  • Maercker, A., Neimeyer, R. A., & Similoa, V. (2016). Depression and complicated grief. In J. Cook, S. Gold, & C. Dalenberg (Eds.), APA handbook of trauma psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
  • McDevitt-Murphy, M. E., Neimeyer, R. A., Burke, L. A., Williams, J. L., & Lawson, K. (2012). Assessing the toll of traumatic loss: Psychological symptoms in African Americans bereaved by homicide. Psychological Trauma, 4, 303–311.
  • Milman, E., Neimeyer, R. A., Fitzpatrick, M., MacKinnon, C. J., Muis, K., & Cohen, S. R. (2018). Complicated grief and the disruption of meaning: Establishing a mediation model. (Under Review)
  • Neimeyer, R. A. (Ed.). (2001). Meaning reconstruction and the experience of loss. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
  • Neimeyer, R. A. (2006a). Lessons of loss (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge.
  • Neimeyer, R. A. (2006b). Widowhood, grief and the quest for meaning: A narrative perspective on resilience. In D. Carr, R. M. Nesse, & C. B. Wortman (Eds.), Spousal bereavement in late life (pp. 227–252). New York: Springer.
  • Neimeyer, R. A. (2009). Constructivist psychotherapy. London and New York: Routledge.
  • Neimeyer, R. A. (2012a). Analogical listening. In R. A. Neimeyer (Ed.), Techniques of grief therapy: Creative pracices for counseling the bereaved (pp. 55–58). New York: Routledge.
  • Neimeyer, R. A. (2012b). Chair work. In R. A. Neimeyer (Ed.), Techniques of grief therapy (pp. 266–273). New York: Routledge.
  • Neimeyer, R. A. (2012c). Correspondence with the deceased. In R. A. Neimeyer (Ed.), Techniques of grief therapy (pp. 259–261). New York: Routledge.
  • Neimeyer, R. A. (2012d). The life imprint. In R. A. Neimeyer (Ed.), Techniques of grief therapy: Creative practices for counseling the bereaved (pp. 274–276). New York: Routledge.
  • Neimeyer, R. A. (2012e). Retelling the narrative of the death. In R. A. Neimeyer (Ed.), Techniques of grief therapy (pp. 86–90). New York: Routledge.
  • Neimeyer, R. A. (Ed.). (2012f). Techniques of grief therapy: Creative practices for counseling the bereaved. New York: Routledge.
  • Neimeyer, R. A. (2014). Chapters of our lives. In B. E. Thompson & R. A. Neimeyer (Eds.), Grief and the expressive arts: Practices for creating meaning. New York: Routledge.
  • Neimeyer, R. A. (2016a). Complicated grief: Assessment and intervention. In J. Cook, S. Gold, & C. Dalenberg (Eds.), APA handbook of trauma psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
  • Neimeyer, R. A. (2016b). Meaning reconstruction in the wake of loss: Evolution of a research program. Behaviour Change, 33, 65–79. doi:10.1017/bec.2016.4
  • Neimeyer, R. A. (Ed.). (2016c). Techniques of grief therapy: Assessment and intervention. New York: Routledge.
  • Neimeyer, R. A., & Alves, D. (2017). Seeking meaning in loss: An online narrative constructivist intervention for complicated grief. Grief Matters: The Australian Journal of Grief & Bereavment, in press.
  • Neimeyer, R. A., & Burke, L. A. (2017). What makes grief complicated? Risk factors for complicated grief. In K. Doka & A. Tucci (Eds.), Living with grief: When grief is complicated (pp. 73–93). Washington, DC: Hospice Foundation of America.
  • Neimeyer, R. A., & Hooghe, A. (2018). Reconstructing the continuing bond: A case study in grief therapy. In D. Klass & E. Steffen (Eds.), Continuing bonds in bereavement: New directions for research and practice. New York: Routledge.
  • Neimeyer, R. A., & Thompson, B. E. (2014). Meaning making and the art of grief therapy. In B. E. Thompson & R. A. Neimeyer (Eds.), Grief and the expressive arts: Practices for creating meaning (pp. 3–13). New York: Routledge.
  • Neimeyer, R. A., Baldwin, S. A., & Gillies, J. (2006). Continuing bonds and reconstructing meaning: Mitigating complications in bereavement. Death Studies, 30, 715–738.
  • Neimeyer, R. A., Klass, D., & Dennis, M. R. (2014). A social constructionist account of grief: Loss and the narration of meaning. Death Studies, 38, 485–498.
  • Neimeyer, R. A., Milman, E., & Steffen, E. M. (2018). The meaning in loss group: Principles, processes and procedures. In R. A. Neimeyer (Ed.), New directions in grief therapy: Bereavement and beyond. New York: Routledge.
  • Potash, J. S., & Handel, S. (2012). Memory boxes. In R. A. Neimeyer (Ed.), Techniques of grief therapy: Creative practices for counseling the bereaved (pp. 243–246). New York: Routledge.
  • Prigerson, H. G., Horowitz, M. J., Jacobs, S. C., Parkes, C. M., Aslan, M., Goodkin, K., … Maciejewski, P. K. (2009). Prolonged grief disorder: Psychometric validation of criteria proposed for DSM-V and ICD-11. PLoS Medicine, 6, e1000121.
  • Pritchard, T., & Buckle, J. (2017). Meaning making after partner suicide: A narrative exploration using the Meaning in Loss Codebook. Death Studies, 42, 35–44.
  • Rozalski, V., Holland, J. M., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2017). Circumstances of death and complicated grief: Indirect associations through meaning made of loss. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 22, 11–23. doi:10.1080/15325024.2016.1161426
  • Rynearson, E. K. (Ed.). (2006). Violent death. New York: Routledge.
  • Rynearson, E. K. (2012). Invoking an alliance with the deceased after violent death. In R. A. Neimeyer (Ed.), Techniques of grief therapy (pp. 91–94). New York: Routledge.
  • Rynearson, E. K., & Salloum, A. (2011). Restorative retelling: Revisiting the narrative of violent death. In R. A. Neimeyer, D. Harris, H. Winokuer, & G. Thornton (Eds.), Grief and bereavement in contemporary society: Bridging research and practice (pp. 177–188). New York: Routledge.
  • Saindon, C., Rheingold, A., Baddeley, J., Wallace, M., Brown, C., & Rynearson, E. K. (2014). Restorative retelling for violent loss: An open clinical trial. Death Studies, 38, 251–258.
  • Shear, M. K., Frank, E., Houch, P. R., & Reynolds, C. F. (2005). Treatment of complicated grief: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Medical Association, 293, 2601–2608.
  • Shear, M. K., Simon, N., Wall, M., Zisook, S., Neimeyer, R., Duan, N., … Keshaviah, A. (2011). Complicated grief and related bereavement issues for DSM-5. Depression and Anxiety, 28, 103–117.
  • Shear, M. K., Wang, Y., Skritskaya, N., Duan, N., Mauro, C., & Ghesquiere, A. (2014). Treatment of complicated grief in elderly persons: A randomized clinical trial. Journal of the American Medical Association Psychiatry, 71, 1287. doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2014.1242
  • Supiano, K. P. (2018). The role of theory in understanding grief. Death Studies, in press.
  • Supiano, K. P., Haynes, L. B., & Pond, V. (2017). The transformation of the meaning of death in complicated grief group therapy for survivors of suicide. Death Studies, 41, 553–561.
  • Survivors of Suicide Loss Task Force. (2015). Responding to grief, trauma and distress after suicide: US national guidelines. Washington, DC: National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention.
  • Thompson, B. E. (2014). Conversing with the canvas. In B. E. Thompson & R. A. Neimeyer (Eds.), Grief and the expressive arts (pp. 159–163). New York: Routledge.
  • Thompson, B. E., & Neimeyer, R. A. (Eds.). (2014). Grief and the expressive arts: Practices for creating meaning. New York: Routledge.
  • White, M. (1989). Saying hullo again. In M. White (Ed.), Selected papers. Adelaide, Australia: Dulwich Center Publications.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Order Reprints Request Corporate Permissions

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

Request Academic Permissions

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.

Related research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.