Grief therapy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject.
Please help recruit one or improve this article yourself. See the talk page for details.
Please consider using {{Expert-subject}} to associate this request with a WikiProject

Grief therapy is a controversial kind of psychotherapy used to treat severe or complicated traumatic grief reactions,[1], which are usually brought on by the loss of a close person (by separation or death) or by community disaster. The goal of grief therapy is to identify and solve the psychological and emotional problems which appeared as a consequence. They may appear as behavioral or physical changes, psychosomatic disturbances, delayed or extreme mourning, conflictual problems or sudden and unexpected mourning). Grief therapy may be available as individual or group therapy. A common area where grief therapy has been extensively applied is with the parents of cancer patients.

Contents

[edit] Controversies

[edit] Efficacy and Iatrogenesis

At present (as of 2008), a controversy exists in the scholarly literature regarding grief therapy's relative efficacy and the possible harm from it (iatrogenesis). Researchers have suggested that people may resort to receiving grief therapy in the absence of complicated (or abnormal) grief reactions and that, in such cases, grief therapy may cause a normal bereavement response to turn pathological. [2] Others have argued that grief therapy is highly effective for people who suffer from unusually prolonged and complicated responses to bereavement.[3]

[edit] Validity of "Complicated Grief"

Does "complicated grief" exist in the absence of such mental disorders as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and personality disorders? Bereavement counselors and grief therapists often claim, on the basis of theory, that the psychological suffering of individuals who have experienced a significant loss can be attributed to "complicated grief." However, to date (as of 2008), empirical studies have not yet convincingly addressed the question regarding the incremental validity of the theoretical notion of complicated grief. In other words, scientists have not yet presented convincing data that complicated grief is a syndrome that exists as separate from other mental health problems. [4] New research on this topic is likely to appear in the scientific literature in the recent future.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Jacobs, Shelby, Carolyn Mazure, and Holly Prigerson. "Diagnostic Criteria for Traumatic Grief." Death Studies 24 (2000):185–199
  2. ^ Neimeyer, R.A. (2000). Searching for the meaning of meaning: Grief therapy and the process of reconstruction. Death Studies, 24, 541-558.
  3. ^ Larson, D.G., & Hoyt, W.T. (2007). What has become of grief counseling? En evaluation of the empirical foundations of the new pessimism. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 38(4), 347–355.
  4. ^ Bonanno, G.A. (2006). Is Complicated Grief a Valid Construct? Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice 13 (2) , 129–134

[edit] External links