Chair:

Mary V. Sussillo, C.S.W., BCD, Private Practice, New York, NY

 In mourning, there is a dialectical tension of maintaining a felt connection with the lost attachment figure while also separating from the absent other.  The presenter will describe and demonstrate how to facilitate the patient's reconnection to the dead parent, which allows the separation and the transformation of the lasting bond.

experiential-sharing of work experiences-demonstration-didactic

Learning Objectives:

The attendee will be able to:

1. Compare the dual tasks of mourning--"holding on"(continuity) and "letting go" (change);

2. Demonstrate through visualization/ group experience, the meaning of the loss and the need for "internalizing actions" to create continuity;

3. Integrate the tasks of mourning with adult patients with special emphasis on  "creating continuity with lost parents;

4. Identify countertransference issues with adult patients who have experienced adolescent parental loss.

References:

1.  Gaines, R. (1997). Detachment and continuity. Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 33: 549-571.

2.  Harris, A. (2003), Relational Mourning in a Mother and her Three Year Old After September 11.  In: Trauma and Human Bonds, S.W. Coates, J.L. Rosenthal and D.S. Schecter, eds. New Jersey: The Analytic Press.

3.  Sussillo, M. (accepted for publication), Beyond the Grave-Adolescent Parental Loss: "Letting Go" and "Holding On", Psychoanal, Dial.