PROBLEM-FOCUSED, INTEGRATED PSYCHOTHERAPY FOR COMPLICATED GRIEF

Therapy for complicated grief is predicted on a thorough working knowl edge of normal grief and its maladaptive complications. Knowledge of a ttachment theory, traumatic stress theory, and theoretical concepts of depression and anxiety disorders are also particularly useful. This b ackground is used for psychoeducational purposes and integrated with t herapeutic strategies from established psychotherapies. To illustrate this approach, the authors present a case of complicated grief in a wo man whose mother and son died within 10 months. She was treated with b rief, problem-focused, integrated psychotherapy aimed at alleviating s ymptoms or clarifying underlying psychotherapy aimed at alleviating sy mptoms or clarifying underlying psychological processes engendered by the losses. (C) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.