Department
Counseling and Human Services
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Date of Award
4-2017
Degree Level
Ph.D.
LCSH subject
Psychotherapist and patient
ISBN
9780355415162
Proquest Document ID
1987565908
Identifier
ETD2017Pettit
School/University
St. Mary's University
Size or duration
xiv, 157 pages
Copyright date
2017
Document Type
Dissertation
First Advisor
Wooten, H. Ray
Second Advisor
Comstock-Benzick, Dana
Third Advisor
Parsons, Jacqueline
Abstract
Grief and loss are a part of the substance abuse counselor experience. The purpose of this study was to generate a heuristic inquiry on how substance abuse counselors experience and manage disenfranchised grief in their work with the substance abuse population. A review of the literature indicated health care professionals experience disenfranchised grief. The experiences of disenfranchised grief was noted in relation to substance abuse counselors, who experience ongoing, client-related losses in the workplace. The researcher interviewed 10 Substance Abuse Counselors and asked the research questions, "How do you experience loss in your work as a substance abuse counselor?" and "How do you find and receive support for these losses?". Their responses generated loss-related themes and sub themes, including disenfranchised grief. The resultant themes generated recommendations for substance abuse counselors, and recommendations for ongoing research on this understudied population.
Recommended Citation
Pettit, Melissa, "Disenfranchised Grief and the Substance Abuse Counselor: A Heuristic Inquiry" (2017). Theses & Dissertations. 14.
https://commons.stmarytx.edu/dissertations/14
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.