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Articles

Giving the Dead Their Rightful Place

Grief Work with the Family System

Pages 320-333
Published online: 28 Dec 2017
 
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The author explores how unresolved issues in the family system, including previous generations, can interfere with effective grieving in the here and now. The principles underpinning Hellinger’s (1998) family constellation approach are described, and aspects of entanglement and exclusion that are important in resolving issues related to grief and loss are considered. Some of the puzzles inherent in this work, such as intergenerational memory, are addressed, and transactional analysis authors whose approaches are congruent with systemic theory are cited. The author critiques some difficulties in Hellinger’s theory and describes recent developments in constellation theory, particularly ways to work in individual therapy sessions using this approach. A case study demonstrates practical tools that are accessible to transactional analysts who wish to include a systemic perspective when doing grief work.

Additional information

Author information

Enid Welford

Author Biography
Enid Welford is a Teaching and Supervising Transactional Analyst (psychotherapy) and a member of the ITAA and the United Kingdom Association for Transactional Analysis (formerly the Institute of Transactional Analysis). She worked in a criminal justice agency with mentally disordered offenders, where she encountered highly disturbed family systems. Enid was associate trainer at the Lakeland Institute from 2000 to 2011. She is a peripatetic trainer and has a supervision and psychotherapy practice in Manchester, England. Enid can be reached at 41, Derby Road, Manchester M14 6UX, United Kingdom; email: .