dying, death and grief in an online universe: for counselors and educators

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This article was downloaded by: [The University of Manchester Library] On: 08 October 2014, At: 15:42 Publisher: Routledge Informa Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registered office: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK Journal of Technology in Human Services Publication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wths20 DYING, DEATH AND GRIEF IN AN ONLINE UNIVERSE: FOR COUNSELORS AND EDUCATORS Malcolm Payne a a Policy and Development Adviser, St Christopher's Hospice , London Published online: 13 Jul 2012. To cite this article: Malcolm Payne (2012) DYING, DEATH AND GRIEF IN AN ONLINE UNIVERSE: FOR COUNSELORS AND EDUCATORS, Journal of Technology in Human Services, 30:2, 137-139, DOI: 10.1080/15228835.2012.701574 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15228835.2012.701574 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the use of the Content. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing, systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms- and-conditions

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Page 1: DYING, DEATH AND GRIEF IN AN ONLINE UNIVERSE: FOR COUNSELORS AND EDUCATORS

This article was downloaded by: [The University of Manchester Library]On: 08 October 2014, At: 15:42Publisher: RoutledgeInforma Ltd Registered in England and Wales Registered Number: 1072954 Registeredoffice: Mortimer House, 37-41 Mortimer Street, London W1T 3JH, UK

Journal of Technology in Human ServicesPublication details, including instructions for authors andsubscription information:http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/wths20

DYING, DEATH AND GRIEF IN AN ONLINEUNIVERSE: FOR COUNSELORS ANDEDUCATORSMalcolm Payne aa Policy and Development Adviser, St Christopher's Hospice , LondonPublished online: 13 Jul 2012.

To cite this article: Malcolm Payne (2012) DYING, DEATH AND GRIEF IN AN ONLINE UNIVERSE:FOR COUNSELORS AND EDUCATORS, Journal of Technology in Human Services, 30:2, 137-139, DOI:10.1080/15228835.2012.701574

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15228835.2012.701574

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE

Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the“Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis,our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as tothe accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinionsand views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors,and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Contentshould not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sourcesof information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims,proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever orhowsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arisingout of the use of the Content.

This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Anysubstantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution, reselling, loan, sub-licensing,systematic supply, or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. Terms &Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/page/terms-and-conditions

Page 2: DYING, DEATH AND GRIEF IN AN ONLINE UNIVERSE: FOR COUNSELORS AND EDUCATORS

BOOK REVIEW

DYING, DEATH AND GRIEF IN AN ONLINE UNIVERSE: FORCOUNSELORS AND EDUCATORS. C. J. Sofka, I. N. Cupit, andK. R. Gilbert (Eds.). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company,2012, 271 pp., ISBN 978-0-8261-0732-9.

Ten years ago, books on information technology were written for computernerds. Now, practitioners in even the most interpersonal of specialist areas incounseling, psychology and social work, such as bereavement care, need tobe able to respond to their clients’ and students’ engagement with an ‘‘onlineuniverse.’’ This edited collection of articles introduces a range of experiencesin ‘‘thanatechnology,’’ mainly through examples of practice and online ser-vices. Although thanatology is usually conceived as an academic study ofdeath, dying, and bereavement, the main focus of this book is on socialsupport, counseling, and education in bereavement and grief. Material onpractice in end-of-life and palliative care is very limited and increasinglyimportant areas such as telecare and telemedicine are not covered. Thereare some useful resources on ethical practice in online counseling. Thecoverage is impressionistic rather than comprehensively researched. Theauthorship is wholly drawn from North America, a weakness when the inter-net is a global resource.

The book is divided into four sections. The first consists of two chaptersoffering ideas to help readers orient their theoretical analysis in what may bean unfamiliar topic. They do not seek, however, to provide a coherent over-view of the field of study. The second and most substantial section contains agood range of articles on online social networking as a form of support ingrief and bereavement and covers, for example, social networking, blogging,and online communities of people sharing experiences of living with dyingand grief because of bereavement, and memorialization on the internet.The third section more briefly reviews some experiences in death educationand research. The fourth contains an article about ethical and consumer pro-tection issues in online counseling and a consideration of issues for thefuture.

Two of the more extensive chapters in Part II illustrate some of therewards and weaknesses of the collection. The chapter on blogging swervesbetween introduction for the as yet unaware—the meaning of weblog, thediversity of blogs and bloggers illustrated by citation of Wikipedia and Google

Journal of Technology in Human Services, 30:137–139, 2012Copyright # Taylor & Francis Group, LLCISSN: 1522-8835 print=1522-8991 onlineDOI: 10.1080/15228835.2012.701574

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Page 3: DYING, DEATH AND GRIEF IN AN ONLINE UNIVERSE: FOR COUNSELORS AND EDUCATORS

Blogger for Dummies—to a more academic analysis of different types of‘‘thanablogs.’’ The empirical base for searching for and analyzing these blogsis not apparent from the article; it seems to rely on the author’s experience ofbeing a reviewer of blogs in a death education journal. This is followed by aconsideration of some implications of this range of blogs for people involvedin education and research in this field. The chapter on Griefnet describes theexperiences of two people involved in the development of an extensive pro-ject providing online community for mutual support groups of bereavedpeople. It provides an account of some of the technical and interpersonalissues arising from the project’s rapid growth, some practical guidance basedon experience, and some interesting examples of young people’s experi-ences of bereavement emerging from the project. It is an account of experi-ences. There is no discussion or citation of research and experience onmutual support, grief and bereavement, and counseling and education in thisfield.

A similar uneasy compromise between the practical and the reflective ispresent in the major chapter on death education in Part III. A broad introduc-tion to death education for the unaware is followed by discussion of theadvantages and otherwise of doing this online and then several pages of‘‘teaching tips,’’ practical examples of ‘‘how we ‘do’ online death education’’and a reprinting of instructions for a virtual poster session provides details ofone of the ‘‘tips.’’

Other chapters use a range of methods of presentation. The onlyempirical research reported is a qualitative study of six bereaved under-graduate college students’ narratives of their use of social networking torespond to bereavement and to memorialize friends who had died. It givesa full impression of their experiences, but the study is not large enough toprovide generalizable evidence. A striking account of e-mail, telephone,and Skype psychotherapy around an important death and bereavementexperience by an innovator in literary and theatrical work and an eminentconstructivist psychologist who has contributed significantly to bereavementtheory beautifully realizes their experiences and reflections, but does notseek to offer a coherent critical analysis of using new technology in interper-sonal practice.

In seeking to carve out a new area of academic and professionalpractice, this book addresses a broad and eclectic audience. Like many intro-ductory texts on the use of information and communication technology inthe human services, it tries to deal with the problem of a presumed ignoranceor even hostility on the part of potential readers, by providing basic explana-tions, and practical guidance to enable them to feel that they can use this newway of practicing. More important, it also tries to present the arguments forconsidering incorporating technology in their work. The book achieves mostof this where it brings together a substantial body of experience with reflec-tion and analysis.

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Page 4: DYING, DEATH AND GRIEF IN AN ONLINE UNIVERSE: FOR COUNSELORS AND EDUCATORS

One of the problems is the bottom-up character of engagement withexperiences of dying and bereavement online. People have started dealingwith their experiences of dying and bereavement online, and professionalpractice must scramble to adapt to this natural development in peoples’ dailyuse of online technologies. One sign of the scramble is the emphasis inseveral articles on students and young people and their need for effectivecommunication using technology that is familiar in their generation. So,uncomfortable with information and communication technology though theymay be, outmoded counselors and educators must, perhaps grudgingly,learn new ways to ply their trade.

The editors’ approach to this is partly to connect the new with the old,presenting new technology as a vehicle that might transform skills and renewpractice opportunities, exemplifying what can be achieved through newways of working. Another strategy, signified by the pretentious coinage ofthanajargon, is to offer the excitement of engagement with an emerging fieldof practice approaching academic credibility.

In this aspect of the book’s task, more is required. Academic substancerequires scrupulous construction of an evidence base of both practice tech-niques and knowledge. Accounts of experience, descriptions of develop-ment, collections of information are only a beginning, which in the futuremust lead to careful testing of the contribution that this aspect of counselingand education can make to human understanding and to practice based onthat understanding. A substantial social, anthropological, psychological, andmedical literature on death, dying and bereavement exists. Also, a significantcontribution in the humanities and the spiritual is available. All this needs tobe interwoven with evidence about the uses of information and communi-cation technology in this field. It also requires critical analysis of the socialcontribution of human service technologies that focus on diverse responsesto the universal human experience of death in families and communities.

The enthusiasm, commitment, and experience evidenced in this bookare not enough. More wide-ranging and meticulous evidence about theinteraction of online communication and diverse dying and bereavementexperiences will be needed before there is a convincing knowledge baseand well-founded practice for working online on dying and bereavementprocesses.

Malcolm PaynePolicy and Development Adviser, St Christopher’s Hospice, London

Emeritus=Visiting=Honorary Professor, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityKingston University, London; Opole University, Poland

Comenius University, Slovakia23 Sandpiper Road, Sutton SM1 2ZU, England

[email protected]

Book Review 139

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