Description
Although grief may be painful, for many individuals, it is a temporary journey of sadness. Yet, for others, grief may be a painful, unending road into despair. With grief there is usually a period of bereavement, more commonly known as a mourning period or sadness experienced from death or separation. Bereavement may result in temporary psychological distress or despair, or it may manifest into severe and/or reoccurring psychological disorders, such as depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, and other anxiety disorders. Additionally, the effects of bereavement may complicate client diagnosis, especially for clients that you may already be treating for other disorders.
For this Discussion, review the week's Learning Resources and current literature to examine how unremitting effects of bereavement may complicate client diagnosis. Select an example from the current literature and Learning Resources where bereavement might present an issue for an existing client. Consider if a psychologist might have to change the original client diagnosis.
With these thoughts in mind:
Post by Day 4 a brief description the example you selected. Then explain how bereavement might complicate a client's diagnosis. Finally, post your position on whether a psychologist must change the client's diagnosis in the example you selected and explain why or why not.
Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources and current literature.
Explanation & Answer
Attached.
Running Head: BEREAVEMENT AND CLIENT DIAGNOSIS
Bereavement and Client Diagnosis
Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Course Title
Date
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BEREAVEMENT AND CLIENT DIAGNOSIS
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Bereavement and Client Diagnosis
Bereavement in itself is an intense stressor, as it brings about painful feelings to an
individual. In most instances, bereavement brings about acute symptoms of grief which most
individuals get through without any clinical help. It is meant to be a progressive process in which
an individual is able to go back to living a satisfactory life. However, there are some instances
where bereavement takes a much stronger hold and presents itself in the form of complicated
grief. For a client with an existing diagnosis, there is an increased risk for the development of
complicated grief.
Example of Bereavement
An example is that of a bereaved parent who recently lost a child due to Leukemia. This
client already had a diagnosis of depression due to several factors. The first thing causing the
depression was obviously the child’s illness. Before the leukemia diagnosis, the parent’s work
life and personal life were not making her feel fulfilled, so she had developed acute depression
stemming from feelings of being stuck. The life changing diagnosis for her child had given her
something to focus on and fight for. However, the death of the child became a very big risk
factor and is likely to complicate her grief. It is also important to note that other factors can also
present as risk factors in such a client’s case. For instance, the lengthy illness had put the family
into a lot of financial stress. In addition, the process of treatment had been lengthy and hence led
to isolation from social groupings. Finally the client’s marriage was originally not fulfilling and
has been further strained by dealing with the illness (Durosini, Tarocchi & Aschieri, 2017).
BEREAVEMENT AND CLIENT DIAGNOSIS
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How Bereavement Complicates Client Diagnosis
Historically, professionals in the field have avoided treating bereavement and grief as
pathological. This idea had been reinforced by the DSM-5 rule that did not allow clinicians to
diagnose any major depressive disorders to bereaved clients. The rule was only put aside in
extreme cases such as if the client is suicidal and was later removed after research indicated that
depressive disorders during bereavement did not vary much from other depressive diagnosis. For
instance, in the example above, the mother was diagnosed with depression long before the death
of the child, so the question is, should she be denied a chance to recover just because of grief?
In many instances, bereavement...
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