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.
Love Isn't Finite - Grieving A Partner
How To Make New Memories
How To Show Up For Others
Love Is Stronger - Interrupting Gun Violence
Becoming A Cultural Kinkeeper
The Grief Garden - Supporting Collective Grief
When I Think Of Him, Love Is The Word That Comes Up - Pierce Freelon
How Do I Keep Going Without Her? Kelly S. Thompson
We Need Queer Specific Grief Spaces - Queer Grief Club & Jamie Thrower
It Affects All Of My Relationships
I Took A Year Off To Grieve - Rebecca Feinglos & GrieveLeave
There's No End Point - Sushi Tuesdays & Charlotte Maya
It's Still Complicated
Laurel Braitman Learns To Feel Her Feelings - What Looks Like Bravery
Death With Dignity - Dr. Peg Sandeen
Normalizing Grief - Grant Garry & "Meet Me Where I Am"
Finding The Words - Colin Campbell
(Re)Constellating After The Death Of A Partner
Both Sides Of The Story
Cultural Bereavement - Tida Beattie
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