Animals under human management are often separated from conspecifics, which may lead to behaviour indicative of separation distress or grief. For the purposes of this paper, grief is considered as a biological response to separation, indicated by a bi-phasic ‘protest-despair’ behavioural response. It is reasonable to assume that only animals which are able to form complex social bonds can exper...

Some studies of the relationship between continuing bonds and grief intensity have claimed that continuing bonds lead to poor adaptation to bereavement. However, operationalizations of continuing bonds and grief intensity appear to overlap conceptually. Thus, it is still unclear what character the connection between continuing bonds and grief bears and how strong the relationship is. Three stud...

This consensus paper describes the essential skills that clinicians need to help persons who are experiencing grief after the death of a loved one. Four aspects of the grieving process are reviewed: anticipatory grief, acute grief, normal grief reactions, and complicated grief. Techniques for assessment and recommendations about interventions and indications for referral are provided for each a...

This study examined the effectiveness and feasibility of therapist-guided Internet-delivered exposure (EX) and behavioral activation (BA) for complicated grief and rumination. Forty-seven bereaved individuals with elevated levels of complicated grief and grief rumination were randomly assigned to three conditions: EX (N=18), BA (N=17), or a waiting-list (N=12). Treatment groups received 6 homew...

Empirically supported treatments for co-occurring substance use disorders (SUDs) and grief problems are lacking, despite the salience of grief pathology in substance abusers. Identification of a syndrome of complicated grief, distinct from bereavement-related depression and anxiety, led to the development of a targeted treatment, but this treatment has not been tried with persons with SUDs. We ...

BACKGROUND Traumatic events such as disasters, accidents, war, or criminal violence are often accompanied by the loss of loved ones, and may then give rise to traumatic grief. Traumatic grief refers to a clinical diagnosis of persistent complex bereavement disorder (PCBD) with comorbid (symptoms of) posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or major depressive disorder (MDD) following confrontat...

Previous studies have identified high rates of explosive anger amongst post-conflict populations including Timor-Leste. We sought to test whether explosive anger was integrally associated with symptoms of grief amongst the Timorese, a society that has experienced extensive conflict-related losses. In 2010 and 2011 we recruited adults (n = 2964), 18-years and older, living in an urban and a rura...

BACKGROUND The psychological and personal well-being of nurses can change the way they care for patients. If nurses' grief is not properly managed, the nursing shortage will continue to grow. Consequently, a need exists for the identification of nurses' grief and effective interventions to manage grief to ensure the successful development and growth of the nursing profession. OBJECTIVES This ...

Reflections on results of a recent study suggest that stages of grief might more accurately be described as states of grief. Resolution of grief coincides with increasing acceptance of loss. Research indicating how grief resolution promotes acceptance may prove clinically useful in easing emotional pain associated with loss.

Grief, the psychological reaction to the loss of a significant other, varies complexly in its cause, experience, evolution, and prognosis. Although most bereaved individuals experience a normal grieving process, some develop complicated grief (CG) or major depressive disorder (MDD). The DSM-5, which controversially altered the nosology, recognizes grief-related major depression (GRMD) as a diag...