Traumatic grief

by Selby Jacobs

The loss of an intimate exposes the afflicted person to a higher risk for several types of psychiatric disorders. In addition to potential complications, including Major Depression, anxiety disorders, and PTSD, the existence of pathologic forms of grief cannot be denied. Jacobs introduces the term Traumatic Grief as a descriptor of this diagnostic entity. Using the perspective of a biopsychosocial, medical model (including epidemiology and public health), and the theoretical framework of attachment theory, the author develops the concept of Traumatic Grief as a new nosologic entity. Diagnostic criteria, descriptive features, and the clinical course of Traumatic Grief are detailed as the author verifies the concept of Traumatic Grief as a disorder. The text continues with a review of the treatment literature and moves to the presentation of a diagnosis and treatment algorithm based on the literature review as well as the author's long experience in the treatment of clinical complication