DescriptionAs a universal and deeply painful experience, helping clients deal with the loss of a loved one is an issue most psychotherapists will encounter during their careers. As part of treatment, practitioners will have to make clinical decisions about whether and how to encourage or discourage clients’ connection to the deceased as they move through the grief process. This decision-making process engages a debated topic in the literature, whether to follow an older model of decathexis of bonds or a newer one of continuing bonds. This study explored the experiences and approaches of psychotherapists who specialize in bereavement. Nine licensed psychotherapists with significant experience working with death and grief were interviewed about their work, with particular emphasis on how they incorporate clients’ relationship with the deceased into treatment. Four areas of inquiry were addressed: 1) Participants’ personal and professional education and training in the treatment of grief, 2) Participants’ familiarity with and understanding of the theoretical literature on working with clients’ ongoing relationship with the deceased, 3) Participants’ ways of conceptualizing bereavement with respect to the relationship to the deceased, and 4) Participants’ approach to treatment with respect to bereavement and the ongoing relationship. A qualitative study design was employed and data were analyzed using grounded theory methodology. Themes identified included: the lack of formal graduate training on bereavement and the relative importance of personal experiences, experiential learning, and post-graduate education; the convergence of participants’ conceptual frameworks and intervention techniques with the literature on continuing bonds; the inhibitory and complicating effects of cultural attitudes on healthy grieving; and the importance of psychoeducation in treatment with the bereaved. The findings of this study suggest important implications for practitioners and the field including: the need for more formal training on death and grief in graduate programs; the importance of adopting an open and accepting stance when working with the bereaved; the importance of attending to all aspects of bereaved clients’ relationship to the deceased; the need to provide psychoeducation about the grief process; the need for the field to bridge the gap between the research and practice communities; and the potential for professional organizations to take a more active role in correcting misconceptions and in disseminating accurate information about death and grief to the public.