Complicated Spiritual Grief: When Grief Becomes a Spiritual Crisis (2 CEs)

For many bereaved individuals, faith, religion, and spirituality can prove to be a supportive and comforting resource following the loss of anyone or anything that leaves a sense of deprivation and yearning. However, for some who are grieving, the relationship to their higher power or spiritual community is painfully wounded, leading to the secondary loss of his/her/their spiritual resources, connections, and spiritual crisis.
 

The painful religious and spiritual losses are referred to as complicated spiritual grief (CSG). CSG has been shown to exacerbate the bereavement experience for some religious and spiritually inclined grievers. Clinicians are confronted with religious and spiritual topics in psychotherapy, especially when working with bereft clients. Therefore, knowing how to identify the impact of CSG in the grieving process is imperative. Clinicians will be able to recognize the impact of CSG on the bereaved’s grieving process, increasing skills in conducting a comprehensive clinical assessment and development of effective treatment plans. As a result, grief therapy will more effectively identify and treat all domains of the client’s functioning following or anticipating a loss.