Grief and bereavement are a universal part of the human experience. The impact of grief on human lives is increasingly evident as the COVID-19 pandemic, environmental disasters, and—in the United States in particular—gun-related violence upend normal life and expose vast swaths of society to recurring and profound trauma.
It was only in 2022, with the publication of DSM-5-TR and in the context of considerable scientific progress, that prolonged grief disorder (PGD) was included as a formal diagnosis, one also reflected in ICD-11. Now, this new handbook provides both clinical and non-clinical readers with a science-based approach to identifying and addressing PGD, along with what might be termed "normal" grief.
In extensively referenced chapters filled with illustrative case studies, this guide examines topics such as
• What constitutes bereavement• How "simple" bereavement differs from PGD and how to manage them clinically• Grief in children and the importance of a life cycle approach• Cultural factors and their impact on the experience of grief• Stigma and attitudes toward treatment• Diagnosing and treating PGD
With consequences that include suffering, social isolation and loneliness, poor physical health, shortened life expectancy, and suicide, it is critical that PGD be recognized and treated as quickly as possible.
Thus, Grief and Prolonged Grief Disorder is a necessary resource: Its evidence-based approach gives readers the tools they need to recognize grief in themselves and others, strategies for the clinical management of typical grief, guidance on the specific treatment for PGD, and tips on when to refer patients for specialty care.
"Grief and Prolonged Grief Disorder serves as a handbook for prolonged grief disorder (PGD), which was added to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th Edition, Text Revision) in 2022. The book discusses typical grief-the process of adaptation to and acceptance of the finality of death-and helps clinicians recognize when that process has been derailed. In PGD, grief becomes prolonged, and without focused intervention, it may last for months, years, or even decades. It can be successfully treated with a relatively brief but specific psychotherapy (PGD therapy). The handbook covers epidemiology, bereavement, theories of grief, circumstances of loss, life cycle considerations, and cultural issues, but the central focus is evidence-based strategies for the clinical management of typical grief and PGD"--