Grief And The DSM: Conceptualizing Grief Through A Diagnostic Lens

The death of someone significant in a person’s life can be quite disorienting. The grief that follows is generally a complex and multi-faceted experience that permeates most or all aspects of one’s life.

Grievers often wonder if they are grieving the “right way” and if they will ever “get better” because the intensity of their pain can be so dysregulating. The ways in which people adapt to these losses and re-establish their lives are varied. Although there has always been recognition that some have a more complicated reaction to death than others, recent initiatives have moved those complications into a widely recognized, controversial, and formalized diagnosis. Grief now carries a categorization of “normal” or “disordered”.

After years of heated debate and changes in how grief complications are named and identified, Prolonged Grief Disorder has recently been established as a form of grief that is pervasive and interferes significantly with a person’s functioning in the authoritative manual of the APA, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

This lecture will focus on the genesis of this shift in characterizing grief and how it is presented in the ICD and DSM. We will look at the various viewpoints surrounding this lens and discuss the distinctions made between normal and problematic forms of bereavement. We will also review the various approaches and techniques that are currently available to use in situations of difficult grief and their utility.

4 CEs available to NYS LMHCs, LMFTs, LCSWs, LMSWs, LCATs, NYS Licensed Psychologists, and NYS Licensed Psychoanalysts provided by Hudson Valley Professional Development, LLC upon successful completion of training.

Objectives:

Upon completion of training participants will:

-distinguish between what is being called normal and prolonged grief.

-understand the diagnostic criteria relevant to Prolonged Grief Disorder in the DSM and ICD.

-understand how to properly utilize at least two different therapeutic techniques that can be helpful for addressing difficult aspects of one’s grief.

In accordance with the NY State Department of Education guidelines, in order to receive continuing education contact hours, a participant needs to be present for the duration of the workshop/training. Therefore, participants who arrive late or leave the event early will not be granted a certificate of completion.

​Cancellation Policy: Refunds will be provided for cancellations made in writing up to three business days prior to the start of the event.

Accommodations and Accessibility: HVPD welcomes participants with diverse abilities. Please contact us at info@hudsonvalleyprofessionaldevelopment to request accessibility accommodations. Accommodation requests are considered in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

_____

Maria Georgopoulos, LMHC, FT, is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Fellow in Thanatology, whose work focuses on grief, loss, and trauma. She obtained her Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling from New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Development and received additional clinical training through The Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy’s Psychoanalytic Training Program and The Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute.

Formerly the Director of Bereavement Services at Calvary Hospital, she was responsible for overseeing 33 bereavement support groups across three sites in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Manhattan that serve hundreds of adults, children, and teenagers each year; led a team of 8 bereavement counselors and spearheaded Calvary’s efforts to expand their professional learning programs in the New York area. She also worked with grieving families at The American Red Cross of Greater New York after 9/11.

Ms. Georgopoulos values raising awareness about death and dying in our communities. To support this endeavor, she has taught as an adjunct professor, contributed chapters in various publications for the Hospice Foundation of America and participates in different committees with the Association for Death Education and Counseling and the National Alliance for Children's Grief. She has worked with countless individuals experiencing trauma and loss over the length of her career, conducts trainings and seminars for mental health professionals nationally, and maintains a private practice in New York.