Use of metaphor can provide a powerful and useful framework for lowering resistance to the pain of bereavement for parental grief. Premature termination of treatment is often the result of the client's desire to avoid direct confrontation of feelings associated with the death. Metaphor offers a graphic, non-judgmental symbolic representation through which the mourner may freely express the sorrow, loss, anger, and guilt that is necessary to accomplish the tasks of grieving. A neutral symbol can help facilitate normalization and universalization of grief responses.
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