Bowlby's Attachment Theory Essay

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Bowlby and his attachment theory has four stages in bereavement which are: Shock Yearning and protest Despair Recovery Shock is where a child reacts to the bereavement and loss of a love one especially a parent. When a child is in shock they tend to be more emotional and in younger children they don’t understand as much as older children do. Shock is an emotional stage to go through. I have seen this in my previous setting where the child has changed where her behaviour has changed from the day before she was very happy then the next day she was very sad and upset. Yearning and protest is where a child protests and is the next stage after shock. The child is beginning to protest about anything as the child is still emotional about the loss …show more content…

Her theory is based on bereavement and loss. She made a theory based on supporting people who have gone through a bereavement by counselling. Her five stages are: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. This theory can be used to observe other factors which can traumatise or upset a person such as losing a job, gaining an injury or relationship-break up. These factors are far less extreme than losing a loved one. The five stages of grief is also known as the ‘grief cycle’. The five stages of grief is a model of the grief stages. The first stage denial is where a child refuses to accept the facts, reality and information, relating to the current scenario. The second stage anger is the second stage of the five stages and is where the child can be angry with themselves and/or others, especially those who are close to them. The next stage is bargaining which means that the child bargains with whatever god or person they believe in. Depression is the next stage after bargaining which is the stage in which is preparing the child for the aftermath. The last stage acceptance is where there is emotional detachment. A dying person can go through this stage before the people who are left behind. The people who are left behind must pass through the five stages through their own way of dealing with grief.

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