Recovery in context: bereavement, culture, and the transformation of the therapeutic self.

The concept of recovery is integral to the work of bereavement professionals, though there remains considerable debate as to the precise definition and applicability of the term. A number of factors have contributed to the controversy; competing bereavement models, for instance, have given rise to fundamental differences in the way that recovery is conceptualized, whereas an epistemological divide between researchers and practitioners has further hindered theorists' efforts to arrive at a definition with far-ranging explanatory power. An examination of fundamental concepts from bereavement literature, resilience research, and existential philosophy may be helpful toward the development of a recovery concept that encompasses an array of thanatological perspectives. An educational model emphasizing the phenomenological dimensions of learning addresses the crucial relevance of culture to bereavement, and helps account for the self-transformation inherent in a range of grief experiences.