RESEARCH_FILE
Kenneth J. Doka
The College of New Rochelle / Hospice Foundation of America
Known for:Naming and developing the concept of disenfranchised grief
SEE THE PRACTICE
Turn a thought this research explains into one clear move.
THE THOUGHT
“I must have done something wrong”
YOUR RECORDED RESPONSE
“Their silence is information. I do not need to turn it into a sentence about me.”
ONE PRIVATE MOVE
Open a blank note and write three short lines: what you know, what you are guessing, and one thing you will not keep checking tonight. Save it and put your phone face down for five minutes.
Key findings
- 1989
Disenfranchised grief is the grief experienced after a loss that is not or cannot be openly acknowledged, publicly mourned, or socially supported — including losses of relationships that lack recognized status, losses not recognized as losses, and grievers society excludes. Disenfranchised Grief: Recognizing Hidden Sorrow ↗
- 1999
Every society has 'grieving rules' that define who is entitled to mourn, for whom, how, and for how long — and grief that falls outside those rules is cut off from the social support and rituals that normally help people process loss. Disenfranchised grief ↗