A Family Systems Perspective on Loss, Recovery and Resilience

While most attention to death and mourning has tended to focus on individual bereavement, a systemic perspective is required to understand how the loss of a family member reverberates throughout the family system with immediate and long-term consequences for family functioning and for all members and their subsequent relationships. This overview chapter presents a systemic framework to guide assessment and intervention. How the family faces death and deals with loss are crucial for healing; some are shattered while others are able to rebound. Discussion addresses family adaptational challenges, factors that pose complications and risk of dysfunction, and key interactional processes that encourage recovery and resilience.