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What is Block and Tackle Theory?

Grief cannot find resolution if the sufferer refuses to express it. An Australian organization devoted to helping people cope with grief, the Emotional Health Centre, teaches a technique known as Block and Tackle that helps family members face and work through the loss of a child in the family.

  1. Grief

    • The National Mental Health Information Center defines grief as a painful emotional response to a serious loss, including the loss of a loved one, job, or health. While each person has an individual response to grief, HelpGuide.org lists common stages of the grieving process as denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

    Block and Tackle

    • Block and Tackle theory addresses the unresolved grief issues that occur within a family when a child experiences deep trauma, a life-changing injury or a chronic illness. If the child represses or denies his grief instead of working through it, the buried grief continues to cause great underlying emotional distress. The child's parents may then make the situation even worse by taking the child's cue and pretending their own grief over the trauma does not exist. Block and Tackle therapy teaches people how to recognize and respect their grief, as well as the potential damage unmanaged grief can cause to families.

    Background

    • Liz Bruce developed the Block and Tackle concepts and later described them in her book "Noninfinite Loss and Grief: a Psychoeducational Approach." Block and Tackle sessions first appeared in 1996, and these early groups generated strong positive feedback about Block and Tackle's ability to apply group therapy techniques to parental grief issues.

    Findings

    • The findings of the Block and Tackle pioneers appear in a scholarly paper titled "Early Intervention for Mothers of Children with Intellectual Disability: A Pilot Programme Focusing on Trauma and Grief." The major points that emerged from those first sessions included empathy and respect for grief, constructive coping strategies, and the use of societal connections for emotional support.

    Training

    • People who wish to conduct Block and Tackle programs or use elements of its techniques must travel to the Emotional Health Centre in Australia for training that includes supervised sessions. An initial two-day workshop introduces Block and Tackle theory and techniques and how they apply to groups. The participants learn how to work with emotions, control group dynamics, and use the program's worksheets.

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