Intersections Between Grief and Trauma: Toward an Empirically Based Model for Treating Traumatic Grief

Two divergent areas of study have focused on the experiences of grief, i.e., bereavement, and on trauma and its aftermath. The grief literature has its foundations in psychodynamic and relational theories, and thus treatment modalities have focused on relationship issues through reminiscence and developing a new sense of the relationship and of the self, independent of the lost loved one. The trauma literature, while having some psychodynamic roots, has been founded primarily on biological and cognitive formulations. Again, while many different treatments are discussed, cognitive-behavioral approaches based on cognitive restructuring and symptom management dominate the practice efficacy literature. But trauma and bereavement/loss are not mutually exclusive, and when a practitioner is faced with a client suffering from both, it is necessary to attempt to integrate these divergent theories and at times antithetical treatment approaches. This paper therefore seeks to address the issue of treatment efficacy in traumatic loss and develop guidelines for evidence-based approaches to practice.