Complicated Grief Essay

Losing a child to death is every parent’s worst nightmare. When this tragedy does occur, research has shown that bereaved parents are significantly more likely to develop complicated grief in the wake of a child’s death. Complicated grief can be present in up to 15% of all individuals who are grieving; higher percentages are observed in grieving parents. Manifesting as a prolonging of the acute stage of grief, complicated grief is characterized by deep longing for the deceased; intense and persistent sorrow; preoccupation with or, conversely, avoidance of reminders of the one who died; and shock, anger, and bewilderment at the loss. Treatment for complicated grief is therefore likely to be more difficult than that of ordinary grief or bereavement,

Often, parents report strong feelings of shock, anger, helplessness, and other painful responses for long periods of time following the death of their child (Zetumer, et al, 2015). For most parents, with time, these feelings will become less acute, but not for all. For approximately 15% of all bereaved individuals, the acute portion of the grieving process does not abate with time (Kersting, Brähler, Glaesmer, & Wagner, 2011). Bereaved parents are significantly more likely to suffer from extended grief in the wake of their child’s death and parents who lose their children to suicide or violence have even higher risks of developing prolonged grief disorder or complicated grief. (Kersting et al., 2011). In this paper, I will explore some possible causes for these parents’ complicated grief (CG) and how therapists might help them to ameliorate their

From a historical perspective, however, this is a recent turn of events. Advances in medicine, hygiene, and technology have rendered childhood death an anomaly rather than the commonplace event it was as recently as the mid-20th century (Singh, 2010). These facts are of little help in relieving the grief of these parents, but interventions based on a life course perspective may prove helpful. Unlike other, more linear theories, the life course perspective places less emphasis on a straightforward progression of milestone events; rather, emphasis is on the content and timing of events during the lifetime of the family (Bengston & Allen, 2009). While life course perspective does place some significance on the role that chronological time plays within the life cycle, it does not insist on uniformity in stages of development. This allows for individuals to construct their own meaning of the events in their lives. Nor does it exclude the usefulness of other social science disciplines; the life course perspective incorporates and acknowledges the importance of a variety of fields: psychology, sociology, economics, and history, to name a few. (Bengston & Allen, 2009). Perhaps this less-rigid viewpoint will help these grieving parents to feel that they have not done anything