200609 20-1 The Psychosocial Transition of a Bereaved Father

Chun-Chuan Wang
National Hualien University of Education

The aim of this article is to explore the psychosocial transition of a father who lost his daughter during the 1999 Taiwan Earthquake. The transition of this father in terms of his level of trust upon the researcher, impact of grief experiences, and possible growth was the principal focus of this study.
The present study utilized an ethnographical method to derive data from various forms of interaction from the father. Three long conversations, one in-depth tape-recorded interview, seven sessions of therapy, field notes, as well as the verbatim text of the recorded interview, were being used as primary data sources. Three themes then were extracted, including: relationship establishment, the influences of the bereavement, and changes triggered by therapy.
For the first theme, this study explored three possible aspects that facilitated the father's willingness to share his story. For the second theme, the universalities and uniqueness in the father’s grief, as well as the profound impact on the father of the experience of sudden loss were investigated. Regarding the third theme, based on principles deriving from Person-Centered therapy, possible changes after therapy were discussed.

Keywords
bereavement, ethnography, grief therapy, the 1999 Taiwan Earthquake, Person-Centered Approach

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