The Soul of Sorrow Work

Abstract

The courage and willingness to walk alongside families in grief calls forth particular beliefs and practices in nurses and other health care professionals. In this second phase of a study on grief and grief interventions, the researchers examine experiences of bereaved family members who received care in a grief support program and explore program clinicians'explanations of the work that they do with the bereaved. Findings of this interpretive study suggest that it is not so much models of grief intervention but maps that most guide the clinicians—maps that are drawn out of experience and with awareness of their limitations. The family members and the clinicians bring us to an understanding that, often, it is the willingness to step off of the map that makes for the best traveling companion in the spiritual walk of grief.