Loss and the Quest for Meaning and Growth

Commonplace understandings of grief and the majority of psychological research focus on the range of negative emotions, negative health impacts and negative life changes that bereavement brings in its wake. But does the prospect of enduring psychological devastation following the death of a loved one mean that growth after loss and trauma is unlikely? This article by Robert A. Neimeyer, a leading scholar in the field, explores meaning reconstruction and an appreciative perspective as ways to find meaning when challenged by loss.