169 / 182
14
This issue consists of five Sections, each comprising
articles
that
deal
with
different
aspects
of
fracture.
How does one live with the sudden loss, how does one live with
the painful memory and how can one taste something other than
the taste of tears? The issue’s first Section,
“Like Shattered Glass”,
comprises two articles dealing with families’ ways of coping with loss
and bereavement.
Ronit Shalev’s
article deals with the perception
of change that parents undergo in the wake of bereavement. The
author describes the characteristics of parental bereavement, its
distinction and implications, and dwells on the phenomena of changing
self-concept in parents who had experienced sudden loss: What is the
implication of parenthood after the loss of a son or a daughter, how
can one continue upholding a significant life after such an essential
component in one’s self identity has changed, and what are the sources
of solace and strength that parents can find in their soul after the loss?
Rona Ackerman, Ilan Sharif and Iris Socolover-Yakobi’s
article deals with a
change in the perception of bereavement in Israel over its years of existence.
Through the combination of a review of theoretic sources and quotes from
in-depth interviews with members of bereaved families and directors of aid
centers, thearticlereviews thesocial change intheperceptionofnon-military
loss and bereavement: a transition from themarginalization of bereavement
by society to making it present, accepted, recognized and cherished.
The article describes aid centers for families, designed to create an accepting
and non-judgmental place for families who lost their loved ones, enabling
families to meet, support each other and reinforce sources of strength.
The second Section
“Accepting Fracture”,
connects two articles dealing
with the ways professionals cope with patients’ ability to accept fracture.
Erga Kapulnik and Hanita Rafael-Ashuri’s
article describes, stage by
stage, the mental changes that therapists undergo while training for
treatment of loss and bereavement. The authors demonstrate the various
stages therapists undergo using the story of the creation – from a
“chaotic state” of helplessness, through the emergence of insights and
ways of coping with fears and mental turmoil to a state of acceptance
and healing. The writers describe both aspects of the complex treatment
experience – that of the patient and that of the therapist – from a place of
no-faith and fear to a place of acceptance.