Processing

Grief and Loss

Through the Body

Online intensive course

with
Marianne Eberhard-Kaechele
and
Tamsin Grainger

Curators Julia Morozova and Susan Scarth meet participants and facilitate large and small group discussions around the topic. .

Theoretical constructs to explain the phenomenon of grief can help dance movement therapists to develop interventions specifically suited to the issues of their clients. They also can help clients to understand their reactions to loss. The dual process model of grief sees bereavement as a dialectical process oscillating between loss-orientation and restoration-orientation. It was designed to overcome the limitations of earlier phase- and task-oriented theories. It not only describes the elements of healthy dealing with grief, it also helps to understand interpersonal clashing, when relational partners deal with grief differently. Beyond grief, the dual process model is also applicable to homesickness, another phenomenon that refugees and their caregivers are confronted with.

The webinar introduces the theory and its implications for DMT Intervention and presents examples of DMT Interventions related to this theoretical construct, some as experientials.

This webinar builds on the previous knowledge of the first webinar. In the first part we will provide the opportunity to clarify any questions on the first webinar, possibly refreshing some principles. Then we will move on to the new topic of traumatic loss. We will consider how the traumatic form of death or loss complicates the recovery process in core issues such as life assumptions, acceptance of loss, finding meaning, spirituality, guilt, and rumination. Experiential interventions enable participants to understand these core issues in an embodied way. In this vein we will also briefly consider the phenomenon of ambiguous loss, where closure of the relationship is difficult, such as with missing persons or refugees. Subsequently we will experiment with creative and embodied approaches to treatment aimed at these core issues, as well as overarching mechanisms of healing such as resilience and social support. Finally, we will consider how the experience of loss can impede the development of future relationships to partners, children, places, or activities for fear of being subjected to loss again. Griefwork and the ability to overcome loss is a facet of every (dance) psychotherapeutic process, as the client must face the adverse experiences that led to their illness and learn to live and love again, despite the danger that they could be hurt once more. Finding an inner attitude of trust and hope will be our finishing focus for this webinar.

In East Asian Medicine, sadness and melancholy are associated with the Lungs (the "tender organ") and the Metal Phase. We will work, alone and together, at this Autumn time, with the breath/movement, the skin/touch, and words/sound because:
- the Lungs receive air qi which connects us to life and therefore death
- they are connected to the qi of the chest and "rule over the Heart"
-they 'descend' water vapour to the Kidneys (associated with fear) allowing for the 'dissemination' of wei qi to the inside of the skin, where we meet the outside world
- the nose is "the thoroughfare for the respiratory system"
- the throat is the "door" of the Lungs, and "home" of the vocal cords
- there is a clear link between the lungs and the recognisable symptoms of grief: respiratory disorders, depression and suicidal tendencies, complicated grief, the inability to grieve / repression of grief, and overwhelm

We will also share some meditation, Chi Gung, walking, and reflection, in order to explore our feelings, sensations and sensory perceptions. We will acknowledge the personal and shared grief from and with the pandemic, war, climate change, illness and accident, and through all this, we will learn new ways to support ourselves and our clients by engaging with the transformation and renewal inherent in grieving and mourning.

"With mourning comes acceptance and letting go into the process of change" (p293 CB-C)

Group meeting curators will invite you to discuss and explore in-depth the issues arising from the webinar materials presented so far.

The webinar takes a social perspective, reflecting on attitudes to grief in society that may affect those who are in mourning. First, we will consider the difficulty of integrating grief in a world increasingly focused on hedonism on the one hand and self-control on the other, which leads to the suppression of grief and a lack of rituals to contain and express it. This in turn leads to the somatization of emotion and bodily distress disorders. In response we will look at what DMT has to offer to overcome somatization and return to emotional expressivity.

Moving on, we will learn about domains of the politicization of grief as conceptualized by Leeat Granek. These include two malfunctions (pathologizing and manipulating grief) and one proactive function (activism) of grief in society. She believes the medicalization of grief and the individualization of this experience serves to reinforce and encourage the neoliberal 21st century ideal of the productive, consuming citizen and inhibit the justified rage about social injustice. The second malfunction of the politicization of grief occurs at the national level, where governments actively manipulate grief in the service of political aims including instigating or perpetuating war. The relevance of this perspective in light of the War in the Ukraine is not to be overlooked. However, it is equally relevant for contexts in which deaths or property damage have a connection to racism and xenophobia or to corporate catastrophes such as water poisoning etc. The third social/political function of grief is as a force driving social activism in the service of a social justice agenda. In the webinar we will explore embodied means of reflection on these themes and creative interventions to support awareness, self-efficacy and prepare for activism.

More info coming soon

Group meeting curators and tutors will invite you to discuss and explore in-depth the issues arising from the webinar materials presented during the course. The group discussion will consider how we might adapt our practice in the light of this new information gained.