A Deeper Understanding of Acceptance in the Context of Loss

What is it about?

Although acceptance may be an important step in responding to loss, such as those resulting from spinal cord injuries, through a careful analysis of specific cases, relevant literature, and drawing upon the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas we concluded that acceptance is a place that one arrives at and not something one can make happen. In fact, pressuring patients to accept their situation may not be helpful. In contrast, for example, denial may initially allow a person to move on. We present five responses to loss with the goal of enabling helpers, whether professionals or family, to address the situation of patients in a nuanced, empathic, and helpful way.

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Photo by Accuray on Unsplash

Photo by Accuray on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Injured persons are often given well-intentioned but typically not helpful advice to accept their new reality based on the assumption that doing so will help them to move forward. In this paper we critique this approach and call for helpers to encounter injured persons with a genuine openness to their circumstances and specific capacity for moving forward. Our perspective underscores the need for helpers’ emphatic encounter with those they serve as well as the need for societal and organizational support for flexible and person-oriented approaches.

Perspectives