ABSTRACT
The chapter Grief and COVID-19 will focus on the unique issues that the pandemic creates for individuals grieving in this period. The chapter delineates some of the unique issues of the pandemic such as travel restrictions and quarantines that limit support and rituals. In this chapter we consider grief in three populations – persons grieving those who have died from COVID-19, persons who have died from other reasons during the pandemic and the grief of health care professionals. In addition, the chapter discusses other losses – often disenfranchised – such as employment, income, experiences and most importantly the loss of an assumptive world – all of which create grief. The chapter notes that grief of all of these groups may be at risk for complicated grief reactions and offers therapeutic suggestions to mental health professionals seeking to assist individuals coping with such losses.
