This paper was in the conference proceedings report for an NZAC conference that took place in Hamilton, New Zealand in June 1999. During the workshop, commonly held assumptions in counseling professions about death, dying and grieving were explored. The worksop addressed influences and stories that dictate a “perfect death” and a “perfect bereavement”. How do these models evolve into dominance & what communities contribute to these conversations? How does diverse medical, cultural, religious and counseling voices contribute to conversations of death and grief? We also explored the impact of incorporating alternative voices of imperfection that narrate death and grief as a non-ordered, unpredictable and expansive process.
