Dear Dougy

Dr. Donna Schuurman is back - this time talking about the dangers of pathologizing grief. While the term "complicated grief" has been used in various grief settings for years, it wasn't until March of 2022 that Prolonged Grief Disorder made it into the DSM-5-TR - the Diagnostical & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - as an official diagnosis. This conversation explores the concerns Donna and others in the field share about the move to pathologize grief. We discuss: What Donna’s learned about grief working in the field for over 30 years  How that work experience shapes her personal grief  Why she is so passionate about this topic  The history of how Prolonged Grief Disorder came to be in the DSM  How diagnoses are social constructs - and who often gets left out of the studies behind these constructs The dangers of pathologizing grief as a mental disorder  The (short list) of positives of Prolonged Grief Disorder being available as a diagnosis  Other trends in the field to pathologiz