Conditions we treat
Grief & Complicated Bereavement
Grief is not a disorder — it’s a human response to loss. But when grief gets stuck, when it pulls you under and keeps you there, compassionate care can help you find your footing again.
What is complicated grief?
Grief is the natural response to losing someone or something that mattered to you — a person, a relationship, a role, a future you expected. Most grief, even at its most painful, gradually softens with time and support. You learn to carry the loss, and life slowly reshapes itself around it.
Complicated grief, also called prolonged grief disorder, is different. Months or years after the loss, the pain stays as sharp as the first weeks. Intense yearning, intrusive memories, a sense that life stopped when they did, or difficulty accepting the loss can persist in ways that keep you from moving through grief rather than being stuck inside it.
At The Psychiatric Center, we support people through grief in all its forms — recent loss, anticipatory grief, disenfranchised grief (losses others don’t recognize), and complicated or prolonged grief. We also recognize how grief can trigger or worsen depression, anxiety, PTSD, and substance use, and we treat the whole picture.
How grief can present differently
Acute grief
In the first weeks and months after a loss, waves of sadness, disbelief, anger, and longing are normal. Sleep disruption, appetite changes, trouble concentrating, and moments of feeling the person’s presence are all part of a healthy grieving process — even when they feel overwhelming.
Complicated or prolonged grief
When acute grief doesn’t soften after 6–12 months, it may have become stuck. Signs include persistent, intense yearning, an inability to accept the loss, avoidance of reminders, feeling life has no meaning without the person, or difficulty engaging in relationships and activities you used to value.
Traumatic and anticipatory grief
Sudden, violent, or unexpected losses can leave grief entangled with trauma symptoms — flashbacks, hypervigilance, avoidance. Anticipatory grief — grieving a loss before it happens, such as during a loved one’s terminal illness — carries its own weight, and deserves the same kind of care.
Quick facts
- About 1 in 10 bereaved adults develops prolonged grief disorder
- Risk rises with sudden, violent, or traumatic losses
- Grief can worsen existing depression, anxiety, and PTSD
- Effective, grief-specific therapies exist
Related conditions
Our approach
How we support you through grief
01
Understand
We start by listening — to the loss, the relationship, and how grief is showing up in your body, sleep, and daily life. We assess whether depression, trauma, or anxiety have layered on top, so treatment addresses the whole picture.
02
Build a plan
Treatment may combine grief-focused therapy, support for co-occurring depression or trauma, and — when appropriate — medication to help with sleep, mood, or anxiety that’s making grief harder to bear. We go at your pace.
03
Support you
Grief doesn’t have a finish line. We stay with you through anniversaries, unexpected waves, and the slow work of learning to carry the loss while still building a life that holds meaning.
Common questions
Frequently asked
How long is grief supposed to last?
There’s no set timeline. Grief changes over months and years, but it doesn’t disappear — you learn to live with it. When acute grief stays as intense as it was at the start, or when it keeps you from functioning in the parts of life that matter, that’s a sign additional support may help.
Is it grief or depression?
Grief and depression share symptoms — sadness, fatigue, loss of interest — but they’re not the same. Grief tends to come in waves and centers on the loss itself. Depression is more pervasive and often includes worthlessness, guilt, or hopelessness unrelated to the loss. Many people experience both, and careful evaluation helps sort out what’s happening.
Do I have to take medication?
No. Grief itself isn’t treated with medication. But if grief has triggered or worsened depression, anxiety, or severe sleep problems, medication can provide support while you do the grief work in therapy. We discuss options thoughtfully and only recommend what’s useful for your situation.
What if the loss wasn’t a death?
Grief follows many kinds of loss — divorce, estrangement, miscarriage, a loved one’s dementia, the end of a career, a major health change. These losses are real and the grief is real. We treat grief as grief, regardless of whether the world around you recognizes it.
You don’t have to carry this alone
Call us to schedule an evaluation. Most new patients are seen within one to two weeks.