RESEARCH REFERENCES
The following literature informed the development of :
Living Grief, Recognizing Hope: A Nature-Based Horticultural Therapy Intervention for Reproductive Trauma and Perinatal Loss.
These works explore reproductive and perinatal grief, couple and family experiences of loss, meaning-making, creative expression, nature-based approaches, and resilience.
Reproductive & Perinatal Grief
Cassidy, P. R. (2023). The disenfranchisement of perinatal grief: How silence, silencing and self-censorship complicate bereavement (a mixed methods study). OMEGA—Journal of Death and Dying, 88(2), 709–731.
https://doi.org/10.1177/00302228211050500
Lang, A., Fleiszer, A. R., Duhamel, F., Sword, W., Gilbert, K. R., & Corsini-Munt, S. (2011). Perinatal loss and parental grief: The challenge of ambiguity and disenfranchised grief. OMEGA—Journal of Death and Dying, 63(2), 183–196.
https://doi.org/10.2190/OM.63.2.e
Obst, K. L., Due, C., Oxlad, M., & Middleton, P. (2020). Men’s grief following pregnancy loss and neonatal loss: A systematic review and emerging theoretical model. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 20, Article 11.
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-019-2677-9
Williams, H. M., Topping, A., Coomarasamy, A., & Jones, L. L. (2020). Men and miscarriage: A systematic review and thematic synthesis. Qualitative Health Research, 30(1), 133–145.
https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732319870270
Couples, Families & Relational Grief
Barboza, J., Seedall, R., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2022). Meaning co-construction: Facilitating shared family meaning-making in bereavement. Family Process, 61(1), 7–24.
https://doi.org/10.1111/famp.12671
Callister, L. C. (2006). Perinatal loss: A family perspective. Journal of Perinatal & Neonatal Nursing, 20(3), 227–234.
https://doi.org/10.1097/00005237-200607000-00009
Hiefner, A. R. (2020). “A silent battle”: Using a feminist approach to support couples after miscarriage. Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 32(1–2), 57–75.
https://doi.org/10.1080/08952833.2020.1793563
Hiefner, A. R. (2021). Dyadic coping and couple resilience after miscarriage. Family Relations, 70(1), 59–76.
https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12475
Hooghe, A., Neimeyer, R. A., & Rober, P. (2011). The complexity of couple communication in bereavement: An illustrative case study. Death Studies, 35(10), 905–924.
https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2011.553335
Meaning-Making, Creativity & Grief
Beaumont, S. L. (2013). Art therapy for complicated grief: A focus on meaning-making approaches. Canadian Art Therapy Association Journal, 26(2), 1–7.
https://doi.org/10.1080/08322473.2013.11415582
Dawson, L., Hare, R., Walter, G., Seyderhelm, A., Pocock, L., Selman, L. E., Knightley, M., Madeley, H., & Tookey, H. (2025). Grief and collaborative storytelling: The colours of loss. Journal of Creativity in Mental Health, 20(2), 217–234.
https://doi.org/10.1080/15401383.2024.2348581
Jean-Berluche, D. (2024). Creative expression and mental health. Journal of Creativity, 34(2), Article 100083.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yjoc.2024.100083
Neimeyer, R. A. (2016). Meaning reconstruction in the wake of loss: Evolution of a research program. Behaviour Change, 33(2), 65–79.
https://doi.org/10.1017/bec.2016.4
Nelson, K., Lukawiecki, J., Waitschies, K., Jackson, E., & Zivot, C. (2024). Exploring the impacts of an art and narrative therapy program on participants’ grief and bereavement experiences. OMEGA—Journal of Death and Dying, 90(2), 726–745.
https://doi.org/10.1177/00302228221111726
Weiskittle, R. E., & Gramling, S. E. (2018). The therapeutic effectiveness of using visual art modalities with the bereaved: A systematic review. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 11, 9–24.
https://doi.org/10.2147/PRBM.S131993
Nature-Based & Horticultural Approaches
Boisvert, K. (2024). A qualitative study on the prevalence and impact of horticultural methods as a grieving mechanism within Vermont-based and virtual infant/fetal bereavement services [Conference presentation]. University of Vermont Student Research Conference.
Cleary, A., Dean, J., Pollock, D., McDaid, L., & Boyle, F. (2022). Nature-based interventions for bereavement care: A scoping review protocol. JBI Evidence Synthesis, 20(5), 1344–1352.
https://doi.org/10.11124/JBIES-21-00215
Schony, M., & Mischkowski, D. (2024). Feeling connected to nature attenuates the association between complicated grief and mental health. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(9), Article 1138.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21091138
Resilience & Measurement
Smith, B. W., Dalen, J., Wiggins, K., Tooley, E., Christopher, P., & Bernard, J. (2008). The Brief Resilience Scale: Assessing the ability to bounce back. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 15(3), 194–200.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10705500802222972