ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with an in-depth review of a biobehavioral model of complicated grief expanding upon the theoretical insights and clarifying its differentiation from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder. People naturally shrink from the idea of a loved one’s violent death, as even the thought of such an event is fraught with anguish. Grief is the painful but universal complement to love and attachment. Complicated Grief (CG) is thought to develop because the usual progress from acute grief to integrated loss is impeded. The goal of the treatment is to free (“unblock”) the natural grief process. A case presentation dynamically illustrates the phenomenology of complicated grief before and during intervention, including an imaginal, two-way “conversation” with the memory of the deceased. The chapter also presents highlights of an impressive, rigorously designed study demonstrating the effectiveness of their treatment.
