Childhood Loss, Attachment, and Pathways to Growth: A Personal Growth Process

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Issue Date
2016
Authors
Monument, Daniel
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Abstract
In this thesis, I will present my own personal experience with childhood loss and grief as it has impacted my life, through my adolescence and into my adulthood. Using autoethnography as a method of research inquiry, I will consider the application of principles of Attachment Theory (AT) to my grief process, as well as to the framing of a recent interruption in my mental and emotional functioning. Elements of literature on spiritual emergence and their compatibility with principles of attachment in conceptualizing the experience of "nervous breakdown" will be provided. The use of art, poetry and music are employed as windows into my personal experience and attachment orientation at important stages of my life. A discussion regarding the clinical implications of AT as it applies to my story is offered. This process of personal exploration is put forward in hopes that other emerging counsellors consider the utility of AT when working with grief in their clients, as well as themselves.
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Keywords
autoethnography , attachment , grief
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