Complex and Traumatic Loss

"This book is a triumph. Walsh is a wise guide for clinicians working with individuals, couples, and families suffering from the death of loved ones. Based on the latest research, and weighing in on current debates, the book draws on decades of clinical practice related to loss and bereavement. Walsh clearly demonstrates how a resilience-oriented systemic approach can help people 'bounce' forward in their lives, even in the face of complicated and traumatic losses. While covering an enormous scope of tragic circumstances, the book is nonetheless hopeful. Walsh's conviction that resilience is possible gleams on every page. The book is a gem; it will be a go-to resource for years to come."--Kaethe Weingarten, PhD, Director, The Witness to Witness Program, Migrant Clinicians Network "Walsh brings a lifetime of clinical wisdom and scholarship to this profound discussion of loss, its vicissitudes, and its relation to treatment. She holds both a keen awareness of the effects of traumatic loss and a strong belief in the healing power of relational resilience. The book provides a clear understanding of varieties of loss and how to work with each of them in therapy. It is wonderfully written, moving seamlessly between conceptual information, clinical vignettes, and poignant personal stories. Anchored in a systemic view, the book transcends schools of psychotherapy to speak to how to be therapeutic in the presence of loss--and, ultimately, to the heart of being human. Add this to your list of top ten books about the practice of psychotherapy. It should be a core text in every psychotherapy graduate program."--Jay L. Lebow, PhD, ABPP, Clinical Professor and Senior Therapist, The Family Institute at Northwestern University "Walsh describes a panoply of losses--not just death, but also unacknowledged, stigmatized, and unclear loss. She writes pointedly about the need to see grief as a varied and complex adaptation to loss, rather than as a binary of normal versus disordered. She focuses on applying therapy based on human resilience and growth. This book will enlighten students as well as veteran therapists who may not be aware of the many recent updates in this field."--Pauline Boss, PhD, author of Ambiguous Loss "It seems strange to call a book uplifting when the topic is loss and excruciating grief--but this stunning book shines new possibilities of hope and healing on the heaviness of suffering. In this brilliant, beautifully crafted, and sensitive work, Walsh empowers the reader with crucial concepts and essential practice applications. Universals of grief are attended to, but so are the nuances of sociocultural locations of race, class, religion, or migration. This indispensable resource will be invaluable for courses and clinical training. Professionals will return to it again and again for guidance in helping others, and to cope with their own natural avoidance in attending to unbearable losses."--Celia Jaes Falicov, PhD, author of Latino Families in Therapy-