A Case Study Illustration of Grief Therapy Using Culturally-Sensitive, Integrative Techniques

Abstract

This article is a case study detailing a therapeutic intervention conducted with a 12-year-old African-American girl who experienced behavioral problems following the death of her mother from drug abuse and AIDS. The intervention integrated several modalities and techniques to facilitate behavior change and the healthy grieving process; these included cognitive-behavioral techniques, psychodynamically-oriented art, and culturally-sensitive grief-focused therapies. This article seeks to elucidate the ways in which developing integrative techniques for African-American children and adolescents is a significant and worthy goal.