When A Community Weeps

When a Community Weeps provides a model for effective counselor intervention in bereaved communities. Individual chapters have been written by traumatologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and family members who have witnessed the effects of traumatic events first hand. Each chapter presents a specific traumatic event and gives perspectives on how these events affected the individuals involved as well as the community as a whole.

"This modest and respectful book makes a valuable contribution to our understanding of the consequences of disasters and other traumas and how we can more effectively combine our knowledge of community and understanding of collective, group processes with our trauma, grief and recovery work." -- Joshua Miller, Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, MA"This book addresses the important question of how whole communities react to major loss, looking at ten recent case studies. The editors emphasise that different socio-cultural traditions have to be acknowledged, and that communities should try to anticipate high risk situations and plan ahead to deal with the unthinkable as far as possible. Each makes interesting, at times compelling reading-we can all learn something from how other communities react to major events." -- William Yule, Professor of Applied Child Psychology"This is a significant book, historically, in its identification of a major new awareness or trend in loss identification and care. We need to become more aware of both the connection between, and distinction from, grief and trauma. The traumatized grieve. The bereaved who are traumatized both grieve the loss and grieve the reality of their victimization due to trauma. Each is real and, while they may be intertwined, oftentimes the impact of trauma is minimized as we rush in to soothe the wounds of the griever and those become more complicated." -- Resources Hotline, Vol. 6, No.5