Healing Through Story Telling: An Integrated Approach for Children Experiencing Grief and Loss (Theoretical Article) (Report‪)‬

For centuries stories have been used to record history, as well as impart meaning and assist understanding within a cultural context. Story telling is an indirect, cross-cultural method of communication which may be employed within the therapeutic setting to assist problem resolution (Fazio, 2008). Many therapeutic approaches use stories and storytelling (Boik & Goodwin, 2000; Clark, Ennevor & Richardson, 1996; Geldard & Geldard, 2001; Ziegler, 1992), and therapists working with children have combined storytelling, story making, play and art to facilitate communication since the 1980s (Hanney & Kozlowska, 2002; Remotigue-Ano, 1980). The use of narrative methods with children with psychosocial and mental health needs has been described as both a strength-oriented, child-centred approach and a collaborative means of respecting children as experts in their own lives (Bennett, 2008; Hanney & Kozlowska, 2002). Occupational therapists employ stories as a therapeutic medium with diverse populations, assisting adults to resolve anxiety and depression (Gunnarsson, Jansson & Eklund, 2006) and older adults to adjust to devastating injuries (Kivnick, Stoffel & Hanlon, 2003). Using creative media and storytelling to help children address psychosocial issues is endorsed in the occupational therapy literature as a means of supporting children to tell their story of grief and loss, eliciting their interpretration of events (Fazio, 2008) and assisting them to make sense of the experience. Endorsing that approach, Milliken, Goodman, Bazyk and Flynn (2007) cite the truism 'time doesn't heal--actions do'. They describe participation in meaningful occupation as "uniquely capable of being a catalyst in the healing process" (p. 82) and a medium through which occupational therapists empower people "to discover meaning and significance in life" (p. 82).