ABSTRACT
The world, especially in the West, has changed substantially in less than 30 years, even more so with the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, no one is clear where these changes are taking us, nor what the end result will be; for now, we are immersed in uncertainty and bewilderment. This, of course, also affects how we currently experience three fundamental processes of human existence: trauma, loss, and grief.
With that in mind, in this chapter I will focus on some of the changes that have shaped today’s society and culture, and thus psychology and psychotherapy, particularly with respect to the experience of loss and grief in Western culture. Second, I will discuss some specific forms of grief, such as bereavements due to an unborn child, those due to suicide, and pathological grief. As a final contribution, I will refer to how the Gestalt model, based on the field and dialogic relationship, can be a very appropriate form of support and psychotherapy in grief situations today.
