Sculpting the distress: easing or exacerbating the grief experience of same-sex couples

The grief experience of same-sex couples is under researched when considering the large body of literature that exists on bereavement within the heterosexual community. In a previous article, the background to a study which sought to explore the grief experience of same-sex couples within an Irish context was presented and some of the findings relating to one of the themes (tacit acknowledgement) was presented (Glacken and Higgins, 2008). This article discusses other aspects of the findings under the theme titled sculpting the distress. This theme describes a number of critical incidents that sculpted the bereaveds distress and were perceived by the bereaved person as either being helpful in their bereavement journey or exacerbating their distress. The critical incidents related to communication issues, staff attitudes and treating the couple as a unit of care. The differing philosophies of hospital and hospice care in relation to the care of the dying were clearly evident within this theme.