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Solomon's mothers: a special case of pathological bereavement.
Leverett Millen1, Samuel Roll2
1New Mexico State University.
The American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
|July 1, 1985
Summary
Adoption relinquishment causes complex grief for mothers. This study shows how psychotherapy can help address distorted mourning processes in women who gave up a child for adoption.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Psychiatry
- Social Science
Background:
- Childbirth and adoption create significant emotional challenges for birth mothers.
- The process of grieving is essential for emotional recovery but can be complicated by adoption.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the unique bereavement process experienced by mothers who relinquished a child for adoption.
- To identify how normal grieving components are altered in this population.
- To offer therapeutic recommendations for supporting healthy mourning.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative analysis of psychotherapy sessions with 22 women who had previously given up a child for adoption.
- Application of normal grieving models to understand the women's experiences.
- Case study approach focusing on individual therapeutic narratives.
Main Results:
- The study identified specific distortions and delays in the bereavement process among the participating mothers.
- Common themes included unresolved grief, complicated mourning, and delayed emotional processing.
- Psychotherapy revealed the impact of societal and personal factors on the grieving experience.
Conclusions:
- Adoption relinquishment necessitates specialized therapeutic interventions to address complicated grief.
- Facilitating healthy mourning requires acknowledging and processing the unique losses associated with adoption.
- Supportive psychotherapy can aid birth mothers in navigating and resolving their grief.