ABSTRACT
This chapter describes grief and trauma by expanding the way that trauma is defined and widening the scope from the mainstream orientation of the individual perspective to the shared experience of the family system. It reviews the literature that has been written on the topic of traumatic loss within the family context. The chapter explains the therapeutic considerations for working with families where traumatic losses of various types have occurred. Traumatic loss experiences can combine significant grief responses with intense feelings of anxiety, hypersensitivity, withdrawal, jealousy, verbal abuse, anger, and destructiveness. One of the core issues involved with traumatic loss is the heightened level of vulnerability and need for safety that is felt in relation to the loss that has occurred. The chapter explores the defining features of traumatic losses. It discusses three types of complicated grief in families; traumatic grief, prolonged grief, and posthumous disillusionment. Assessment is always the basis of strong clinical intervention in family therapy.
