ABSTRACT
The introduction to the book Psychoanalytical Approaches to Loss: Mourning, Melancholia and Couples firstly examines the diagnostic entities of complicated and prolonged grief disorder. A picture of the prevalence of loss in different age groups and among different populations is presented, along with data concerning the potential psychological impact of loss. The chapter also examines the role that couple and family psychoanalysis might play in its remediation. The value of a combined object relations/link theory approach to treatment is proposed. The contemporary relevance of psychoanalytic approaches to the treatment of couples with difficulties mourning loss is highlighted. A summary of the two main sections of the book and an outline of the chapters in each is also described.
