ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how family dynamics can hinder adequate grieving, often resulting in complicated mourning. It aims to relate basic concepts of family systems theory to the treatment of complicated grief and to assist practitioners from different disciplines to support grieving families effectively. The main concepts of systems or family therapy represent dynamic processes that intermingle and overlap. When self-differentiation is low and anxiety is high in a family, emotional triangles form to cope with the anxiety. For the systems oriented care provider, the family is the unit of treatment. The care provider will gain much information from the family members and how they interact in classes or counseling sessions. The influences of homeostasis can produce a new, healthier way of functioning, or push the family to revert to old habits. The family began a journey of healing itself rather than trying to fix either the father or the adolescent daughter.
