Dr. Donna Schuurman is back - this time talking about the dangers of pathologizing grief. While the term "complicated grief" has been used in various grief settings for years, it wasn't until March of 2022 that Prolonged Grief Disorder made it into the DSM-5-TR - the Diagnostical & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - as an official diagnosis. This conversation explores the concerns Donna and others in the field share about the move to pathologize grief.
We discuss:
What Donna’s learned about grief working in the field for over 30 years
How that work experience shapes her personal grief
Why she is so passionate about this topic
How diagnoses are social constructs - and who often gets left out of the studies behind these constructs
The dangers of pathologizing grief as a mental disorder
The (short list) of positives of Prolonged Grief Disorder being available as a diagnosis
What Donna is optimistic about in the field of bereavement
Register for Donna’s upcoming webinar: Flawed Foundations, Deconstructing Three Contemporary Grief Constructs Thursday, February 8, 2024.
Donna L. Schuurman, EdD, FT, is the Senior Director of Advocacy & Education at Dougy Center. Dr. Schuurman was the Executive Director of Dougy Center from 1991–2015. Dr. Schuurman is an internationally recognized authority on grief and bereaved children, teens, and families, and the author of Never the Same: Coming to Terms with the Death of a Parent (St. Martin’s Press, 2003), among other publications.
Ep. 159: Back To School With Grief & The COVID-19 Pandemic - A Tip Sheet
Ep. 158: Growing (Up) With Grief - One Teen's Story
Ep. 157: Let's Talk About Loss - Beth French
Ep. 156: Death As Resistance - Dr. Kami Fletcher
Ep. 155: Gratitude, Guilt, & Grief - Ty Alexander
Ep. 154: Memories And Legacy - CircleIt & Art Shaikh
Ep. 153: Big Emotions In Grief - Jenny Delacruz, LPC
Ep. 152: Teenage Grief Sucks - Natalie Adams
Ep. 151: Resources To Support Grieving Children & Families - An Update From The New York Life Foundation
Ep. 150: Love, Anger, & Grief - Supporting Children After A Murder
Ep. 149: Integrating Grief - Mari Gonzalez
Ep. 148: Wrongful Death - A Grieving Mother's Story (Paula Becker)
Ep. 147: Grief & Mother's Day - A Teen's Take
Ep. 146: Reflection - A Mini-Episode
Ep. 145: Speaking Grief - Lindsey Whissel Fenton
Ep. 144: A Grieving Father Turned To Words - Jayson Greene
Ep. 143: A Full-Time Other Mother - Step-Parenting Grieving Children
Ep. 142: Suffocated Grief & Supporting Black Youth - Dr. Tashel Bordere
Ep. 141: You Can't Give From Empty - Grief Professionals & COVID-19 With Megan Devine
Ep. 140: Supporting Widowed Dads - Dr. Justin Yopp
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