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Cited by 451Grief, Bereavement, and Mental HealthDeath, Funerary Practices, and MourningReligion, Spirituality, and Psychology

Grief and bereavement: what psychiatrists need to know

Open access
ZISOOK, SIDNEY, SHEAR, KATHERINE·2009·World Psychiatry
DOI 10.1002/j.2051-5545.2009.tb00217.xPMC PMC2691160
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Abstract

THIS REVIEW COVERS FOUR AREAS OF CLINICAL IMPORTANCE TO PRACTICING PSYCHIATRISTS: a) symptoms and course of uncomplicated (normal) grief; b) differential diagnosis, clinical characteristics and treatment of complicated grief; c) differential diagnosis, clinical characteristics and treatment of grief-related major depression; and d) psychiatrists' reactions to patient suicides. Psychiatrists often are ill prepared to identify complicated grief and grief-related major depression, and may not always be trained to identify or provide the most appropriate course of treatment. Both conditions overlap with symptoms found in ordinary, uncomplicated grief, and often are written off as "normal" with the faulty assumption that time, strength of character and the natural support system will heal. While uncomplicated grief may be extremely painful, disruptive and consuming, it is usually tolerable and self-limited and does not require formal treatment. However, both complicated grief and grief-related major depression can be persistent and gravely disabling, can dramatically interfere with function and quality of life, and may even be life threatening in the absence of treatment; and both usually respond to targeted psychiatric interventions. In addition, patient suicide has been reported as one of the most frequent and stressful crises experienced by health providers, and psychiatrists are not immune to complicated grief or grief-related depression when they, themselves, become survivors. Thus, it is essential for psychiatrists to recognize their own vulnerabilities to the personal assaults that often accompany such losses, not only for their own mental health and well-being, but also to provide the most sensitive and enlightened care to their patients.

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  • PGD appears uniquely responsive to grief-specific treatments compared with existing treatments for MDD and PTSD.

    “Furthermore, in comparison with existing treatments for MDD and PTSD, PGD appears uniquely responsive to grief-specific treatments (Shear et al., 2005;Zisook and Shear, 2009).”

    From The prevalence of prolonged grief disorder in bereaved individuals following unnatural losses: Systematic review and meta regression analysis (2020) · cites this paper as Zisook and Shear, 2009

    The “complicated Grief” section reports that targeted complicated grief treatment produced better outcomes than standard psychotherapy. It does not compare grief-specific treatment with existing PTSD treatments, and its discussion of antidepressants does not establish the claimed comparison with MDD treatments. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Hallucinations and visions of the deceased person are often experienced in both Western and Eastern populations.

    “Hallucinations and visions of the deceased person are often experienced in both Western and Eastern populations (Zisook and Shear, 2009; Shimizu et al., 2017)”

    From The assessment of grief in refugees and post-conflict survivors: a narrative review of etic and emic research (2018) · cites this paper as Zisook and Shear, 2009

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1 of the 64 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [26]26. Clayton PJ, Halikes JA, Maurice WL. The bereavement of the wid- owed. Dis Nerv Syst 1971;32:597-604.

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Authors
ZISOOK, S., & SHEAR, K.
Affiliations
University of California San Diego (US)
ORCID
ZISOOK, SIDNEY
Venue
World Psychiatry
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2009-06
Volume
8
Issue
2
Pages
67-74
ISSN
  • 1723-8617 (ISSN-L)
  • 2051-5545
DOI
10.1002/j.2051-5545.2009.tb00217.x
PMC
PMC2691160
OpenAlex
W1495198831
Semantic Scholar
84d101b3e06ad49e4d800b6e58086f4f836be83f
Cited by
451
References
64
Citations by year
2026: 34 · 2025: 48 · 2024: 38 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 40 · 2021: 40 · 2020: 35 · 2019: 25 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 32 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 19 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 15 · 2012: 21
FWCI
16.24
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor, 1380 d)
Locations
  • World Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
  • Social Sciences › Anthropology › Death, Funerary Practices, and Mourning
  • Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
Keywords
complicated grief, normal grief, bereavement, suicide, differential diagnosis, grief therapy

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