The loss of a child engenders complex emotions that are difficult to articulate, and bereaved parents often struggle to communicate how they feel to those who are there to support them. Cultural taboos around death and its associated negative emotions mean that those who support parents or carers may find it difficult to find the most appropriate ways of communicating. A strong understanding of the emotional impact that the loss has will help healthcare practitioners to provide compassionate care. However, it is not just healthcare professionals who are faced with this challenge; other professionals, such as registrars and funeral directors also need to be aware of the potential impact of their communication.
In this talk, we report findings from a project designed to help healthcare practitioners, registrars and funeral directors to support parents or carers who have lost a child. Parents and carers who have lost a child were interviewed about their experiences, focusing on the experience of the loss itself and the kind of communication they had with professionals. In our analysis of the transcripts of these interviews we examined the language used to gain deeper insights into the experience of child loss, which could then be used to inform improved care and communication. We focused on the ways in which people use metaphorical language and metaphorical thinking to help them conceptualise and come to terms with the loss. We chose to focus on metaphor because it is often used to talk about emotionally charged, life-changing experiences, and it provides an effective way of describing experiences that are not widely shared or that are otherwise difficult to express (Semino, 2010, 2011). Creative metaphor, in particular, is often used to describe intense emotional experiences such as living with cancer (Gibbs & Franks, 2002). We argue that studying the metaphors that the bereaved use therefore provides a deeper understanding of the experience of child loss, and can help to better identify and respond to the needs of those who have endured such a loss.
References
Gibbs, R., & Franks, H. (2002). Embodied metaphor in women's narratives about their experiences with cancer. Health Communication 14 (2), 139-165.
Semino, E. (2010). Descriptions of pain, metaphor, and embodied simulation. Metaphor and Symbol, 25(4), 205–226.
Semino, E. (2011). Metaphor, Creativity and the Experience of Pain across Genres. In J. Swann, R. Carter, & R. Pope (Eds.), Creativity in Language and Literature: The State of the Art (pp. 83–102).
