Stages of grief worksheet
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Looking for a stages of grief worksheet to explain the grieving process to clients? This free downloadable 5 stages of grief worksheet gives mental health therapists a valuable tool to describe grief and loss to clients.
This article also discusses common challenges the 5 stages of grief worksheet model may present, and ways the model can still be used to prompt an individualized approach to work through grief with your clients.
You can download the stages of grief worksheet PDF and save it to your electronic health record (EHR) for repeated use with clients.
What are the 5 stages of grief?
Psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, MD, introduced the five stages of grief model in her book, “On Death and Dying,” published in 1969.
The book, written through the lens of terminally ill patients and the stages they went through in accepting their imminent death, explored the process of dying and the effects on their families and medical professionals.
The 5 stages of grief worksheet includes:
1. Denial
The first stage of grief in the stages of grief worksheet is denial—refusing to acknowledge the reality of death or avoiding the conversation.
2. Anger
When a person starts to accept the reality of death, they may feel angry towards themself or others, and may blame others.
3. Bargaining
This stage of the stages of grief worksheet involves trying to negotiate or bargain your way out of the situation.
This might involve wishing you had been there for a loved one more, feeling like you might have been in a different situation had you seen the doctor sooner, or even praying for a different outcome.
4. Depression
Thought of as a way to avoid the pain of loss, depression sets in with symptoms of a lack of energy, despair, feelings of sadness, and hopelessness that often accompany grief and loss.
5. Acceptance
When people no longer protest or struggle with death or grief, they finally reach acceptance, coming to terms with the reality of loss.
Criticisms of the stages of grief model
Kubler-Ross’ work was foundational in shifting the culture around how we think and talk about death. However, the model has been subject to increased criticism among clinicians for several reasons.
Some criticisms of the model include:
- There isn’t sufficient empirical evidence to support the stages. Kubler-Ross developed the idea through qualitative interviews with 200 terminally ill patients.
- Mental health professionals widely adopted the model to explain the grief process, rather than its original intention—to describe the dying process for patients and their families.
- It’s too strictly adhered to when it was intended to describe the behaviors and emotions of patients nearing the end of life.
- The stages are considered prescriptive rather than descriptive, assuming that everyone must move through each stage to complete the grieving process, even though grief isn’t linear.
Experts (including David Kessler, MA, RN, who has co-authored two books with Kubler-Ross) contend that her work is misunderstood and these stages would present themselves differently in grief.
In their book, “On Grief and Grieving: Finding the Meaning of Grief Through the Five Stages of Loss,” they write that the stages of grief “were never meant to help tuck away messy emotions into neat packages. They are responses to loss that many people have, but there is not a typical response to loss as there is no typical loss.”
Therefore, it’s important for therapists to highlight the unique grief process of each individual.
Types of grief therapy worksheets and techniques
In addition to the 5 stages of grief worksheet and model it’s based on, there are several ways to support clients experiencing grief.
Here are some of the grieving methods included in the stages of grief worksheet:
- Grief journaling is a great way to express grief, remember loved ones, and acknowledge their memory.
- Grief support groups can be helpful for those experiencing grief or a terminal illness. They provide empathy, shared experiences, and comfort.
- Ceremonies are a great way to celebrate the person and mark their passing.
- Therapy offers a safe environment to process grief, life changes, and ways to cope without a loved one.
- Spiritual or religious communities provide support, understanding, and mutual aid to individuals experiencing grief.
- Reading books on other people’s experience of grief and loss.
How to use the stages of grief worksheet with clients
The stages of grief worksheet can be used to describe the behavioral and emotional aspects of grief and to illustrate that it is a non-linear and individual experience.
The stages of grief handout also includes suggestions of different ways to grieve outside therapy.
You can review the 5 stages of grief worksheet in session with clients, or provide it to them as homework to complete on their own.
Sources
- Fisher, J. (2023). 5 stages of grief: Coping with the loss of a loved one. Harvard Health Publishing.
- Mughal S, Azhar Y, Mahon MM, et al. Grief Reaction and Prolonged Grief Disorder. [Updated 2023 Nov 14]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-.
- Stanaway, C. (2020). The stages of grief: Accepting the unacceptable. University of Washington.
- Tyrrell P, Harberger S, Schoo C, et al. Kubler-Ross Stages of Dying and Subsequent Models of Grief. [Updated 2023 Feb 26]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2024 Jan-.
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