User:Apolloh01/Dual process model of coping

The dual process model of coping is a model for coping with grief developed by Margaret Stroebe and Henk Schut. This model seeks to address shortcomings of prior models of coping, and provide a framework that better represents the natural variation in coping experience on a day-to-day basis.

The authors came up with a dual process model to better represent human grief. They explain that coping with bereavement, a state of loss, can be a combination of accepting loss and confronting life changes that can be experienced simultaneously. This model suggests that healthy coping is done through the oscillation between this acceptance and confrontation. It informs on how the combination of healthy emotional catharsis and changing perspective can be a good and healthy process to cope. Being able to confront the situation and also deal with everyday life events allows the person to live their lives with desired states of stability in a subjective post-loss world in which bereaved persons find themselves (Parkes, 1993)[full citation needed].

Coping
Lack of appropriate coping can bring many ailments to a person, mental and physical. Coping through mourning in a state of bereavement is advised in the Bible as "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." Because it helps to achieve growth through thorough acceptance of loss, the transforming capacity of profound human experiences. Freud, in 1959, in an article, called this a process of "working through" the grief. Healthy coping is achieved when the bereaved person is enabled to go forward with healthy, productive living by effortfully developing "new normals" to guide that living which is characterized by lesser stressful demands compared to the initial phase of grief. '''There are multiple ways to facilitate healthy coping and grieving. For instance, spirituality has been identified as a potential factor that could help facilitate healthy coping strategies and reduce the likelihood of developing complicated grief.'''

In the dual process model, healthy coping can be understood as finding a proper balance between the loss oriented and restoration oriented process, ensuring that an individual has ample time to both acknowledge and process their grief while simultaneously finding distractions and new meaning.

Loss oriented
The loss oriented process focuses on coping with bereavement, the loss itself, recognizing it and accepting it. In this process a person may express feelings of grief with all the losses that occur from losing their loved one. There will be many changes from work to family and friendships. There might also be demographic changes and even economic ones. Loss oriented coping has been identified as an especially important aspect of early-stage bereavement, and depending on how an individual copes can significantly impact future adjustment. It has also been identified that ruminating on feelings of loss might lead to distorted, complicated or prolonged grief.

Restoration oriented
In restoration-oriented process, an individual will tackle issues tangentially related to their loss, and will engage in activities that can help distract from grief and facilitate adjustment to a post-loss life. These include focusing on the new roles in their post loss reality and responsibilities in lives. The restoration-oriented process incorporates endurance through reconstruction of perspective by taking over grief; grieving thoughts are adjusted adaptively by creating new meanings with the deceased.

Oscillation
'''Addressing limitations of other models of grief, such as the five stages of grief, the authors designed the dual process model of coping to help depict a more accurate experience of grief and bereavement in everyday life. This model is based on the idea that individuals will contend with multiple stressors following a significant loss, and will not be able to deal with one isolated issue at a time. Bereaved individuals may even experience gaps and fluctuations in the amount of grief they experience daily.'''

The role of oscillation in the dual process model is to suggest that grieving individuals will regularly transition between the loss oriented and restoration oriented process. '''Jennifer Fiore, in a 2019 systematic review, describes this process of oscillation as an element of the dual process model of coping that is crucial for an individual to cope with their loss in a healthy manner. Oscillation between these two processes allows for an individual to address two distinct areas of life post-loss that are foundational for healthy coping.'''

'''While understood to be an essential part of the dual process model, oscillation is also not fully understood by present research. Fiore's 2019 systematic review acknowledged that there is currently no consensus about the optimal balance between loss oriented and restoration oriented coping. However, it is generally understood that an individual will prioritize the loss-oriented process early into the grieving process, and will gradually prioritize the restoration-oriented process more as time progresses.'''

'''Oscillation has also been observed to be influenced by culture and individual characteristics. Different cultural norms and personal preferences may guide individuals to prioritize one type of process over another, making oscillation a dynamic aspect of the dual process model.'''

Conclusion
The dual process model of coping takes into consideration that most will have multiple stressful life events while they are coping with bereavement. Their lives will continue and so will the problems associated with it, confounded by the newfound loss that an individual may be contending with. There will be many situations that will take them away from grieving, necessitating a balance between coming to terms with one's loss, while simultaneously tending to establishing new social aspects of life that transcend their grief. These situations can either benefit them or affect them negatively if they allow them to. Being aware and prepared to change can allow them to continue and deal with post-loss life events.