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Elizabeth Kubler-Ross Theory Of Grieving

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The theory of grief and loss was developed by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross (1969) to apply to people who are grieving as well as those that are dying. Different people deal with grief differently but according to Kubler-Ross suggested that when people grieve they will go through these stages; denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Sometimes loss is expected and sometime it is a surprise to people. The first stage; denial is about the person who is grieving will feel numb and shocked and would not be willing to accept that their loved one has passed away or is terminally ill (Kubler-Ross, 1969). This relates to Jason Martins who has lost his mother due to an illness. This theory was used to be able to understand how Jason is feeling …show more content…

Social workers can improve empowerment to a grieving person by ensuring that they have the support that they need (Parkes, 1986/2007) this includes support from the community and neighbours as this experience will offer the bereaved person encouragement to continue living their life. When service users are grieving they are vulnerable therefore social workers should establish their professional relationship with them using honesty and transparency (PCF domain 2-Values and Ethics) therefore, the client does not identify their social worker as a personal friend. Social workers can prevent oppression and discrimination by ensuring that anti-oppressive and anti-discriminatory policies are in place (PCF domain 3- Diversity) and they should ensure that they are aware of the challenges that service users face due to their emotional state and their identity.

The grief and loss theory has been criticised by Corr et al (1997) who stated that there is not real life evidence to prove that people do go through the stages one (1) to stage five (5). Also the theory was criticised for not acknowledging the limitations of the model, for example, people do not always go through all the five (5) stages. Another criticism of the theory is that using the word “stage” to describe the grieving process implies how inconsiderate it is as it forces the bereaved to internalise their feelings waiting for that “stage” to pass which will affect their life in the long

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