Psychosocial Approach to Loss and Mourning

Every individual is confronted with numerous events and problems throughout his life, and they can get over most of these problems. However, some of these events affect their life significantly. Unexpected death of a loved one is such an event. Grief can be described as emotional, cognitive, and behavioral reactions given by individuals who lost their loved ones. The acute response after loss of loved one are usually not considered as abnormal because most of them are natural. The grief reactions can show a variety according to age, gender, culture and previous experience of person and because of this the reactions of people when they face to grief can show differences, it is important for healthcare professionals to consider these variety while approaching people experiencing loss. Supportive approach in grief include some techniques like psychoeducation, role modeling, encouragement, counseling and problem solving. Studies show that health professionals are lacking in information about communication with the individual who is experiencing mourning, and coping with mourning process. This review aims to emphasize the importance of the psychosocial approach in grief.