New Program and Book Examine Prolonged Grief Disorder Diagnosis and Treatment
Washington – Hospice Foundation of America (HFA) will hold its 31st annual Living with Grief® program, “Diagnosis: Prolonged Grief Disorder” live on April 16, 2024, from noon—2:30pm ET.
The 2024 Living with Grief® program focuses on prolonged grief disorder, a new diagnosis in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed., text rev.) (DSM-5-TR). Panelists include prominent names in the bereavement field: Kenneth Doka, PhD, MDiv; Wendy Lichenthal, PhD, FT; Sonya Lott, PhD; and M. Katherine Shear, MD. Moderated by award-winning journalist Frank Sesno, the program will explore the nature of the disorder through the panel discussion, case studies, and interviews with people who have been diagnosed with prolonged grief. Grief experts, researchers, students, and healthcare practitioners will learn the risk factors for prolonged grief, its symptoms, when to refer for treatment, and evidence-based treatment options.
Inclusion of PGD in the DSM-5-TR validates the occurrence of a disorder characterized by the persistence of pervasive, intense grief. With the possible exception of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), this is the first time a loss-related condition has been identified as a diagnosable condition. The new diagnosis continues to generate controversy as demonstrated by academic debate and public opinion. Opponents believe it pathologizes grief and that its study has been too culturally limited, but researchers who proposed the disorder continue to make a strong, data-supported case that its recognition will help a minority of the bereaved who suffer significant distress and impairment as a result of a death loss.
In addition to the upcoming program, HFA has published a volume of scholarly and personal work, Understanding Prolonged Grief Disorder. A prominent theme addressed by book authors and editors is whether some people may experience grief—which professionals agree consists of a wide range of emotional, physical, and spiritual responses to loss—as something more than what is understood to be a “typical” response. The book’s cover features artwork by a woman treated for PGD, illustrating her experience through the therapeutic process, who will also be featured on the April 16 program. View the full table of contents here.
Dr. Mary-Frances O’Connor, author of The Grieving Brain, notes in the Foreword that, “Grief is simply the human reaction to the awareness we have lost someone so vitally important to us, whether it is days, months, years, or decades after a loss. But the diagnostic code for PGD acknowledges that, for some people, grief does not change over time; some people become derailed in adapting to the fact that they have grief.”
The Living with Grief® program and book are signature components of HFA’s ongoing educational initiatives to increase awareness of grief and bereavement and the hospice philosophy of care. Registration and ordering information can be found on HFA’s website or by calling 800-854-3402.
