Stroebe Dual Process Model of Coping with Loss

Student Name

Institutional Affiliation

Course Name

Professor’s Name

Date
 Stroebe Dual Process Model of Coping with Loss

Grief is one of the uncomfortable inevitabilities of our existence. Like most unpleasant

experiences humans go through, we want to alleviate it as quickly and effectively as possible.

One effective means to help in the extenuation of grief is the Stroebe-developed model named

The Dual Process Model. Stroebe posits that most people experience an oscillation between

confronting their loss and altogether avoiding the subject. What culminates is a response

dynamic developed, which aims at describing the two, hence the duality of the prescriptions in

the model. As sourced from the abstract of their research, "This model identifies two types of

stressors, loss - and restoration-oriented, and a dynamic, regulatory coping process of oscillation,

whereby the grieving individual at times confronts, at other times avoids, the different tasks of

grieving.” (Stroebe & Schut, 2008).

Grieving individuals must balance between loss-oriented responses, such as crying and

thinking about the loved one, to restoration-oriented responses, which as in the name, helps them

cope with the loss. The restoration-oriented responses help the bereaved to get up and get on

with life. It could be compared to appealing to the rational parts of our being, the brain, and

asking that we soldier on despite our loss. Some restoration-oriented activities include creating

new relationships, attempting to fill the deceased's vacant roles, and learning new skills to get on

with life.

On the other hand, the loss-oriented response is directed toward facilitating emotional

sanity. It is crucial to consider the utility of emotions in our lives and how significantly they

contribute to our actions. Therefore, crying and thinking about our lost loved ones can be helpful

even in assisting in calibrating one's action, depending on how it is perceived that the deceased

would have preferred. This is essential in facilitating the honoring of their memories.
 There is a stark variance in how clients react to their loss, often with the common factor

of how much time it has been since the misfortune befell them. Additionally, there is the factor

of variation in abilities, where the different clients will have different willpower and capabilities

to mitigate their processing of loss. As such, I am wholly convinced that it is the role of the

clinical psychologist to attempt to bring out the client into explaining themselves at which point

they are in the grief, make an assessment against reliable metrics such as the stages of grief, and

provide the client solutions that are consistent with their position. Equally useful in the practice

would be to try and encourage the client to let themselves experience the dual process model to

encourage sustainable healing from their loss.

 References

Stroebe, M., & Schut, H. (2010). The dual process model of coping with bereavement: A decade

on. OMEGA-Journal of Death and Dying, 61(4), 273-289.