Prolonged grief disorder is a form of complicated grief. The grief is not resolved. While slightly different than depression, prolonged grief disorders disrupts the lives of individuals and prevents them from properly adjusting to the loss. Pet owners can also face this type of disorder over the loss of a pet.
The article, “Can Bereaved Pet Owners Suffer Prolonged Grief Disorder?” by Hal Herzog, PhD, looks at how complication grief does not discriminate between pet loss and human loss. He states,
“According to the DSM, prolonged grief disorder only occurs in response to “the death of a person who was close to the bereaved.” Bereaved pet owners are omitted. Yet, in a 2020 study of 395 functionally impaired bereaved pet owners published in the journal Psychiatry Research, Sherman Lee found that the patterns of their symptoms were the same as in individuals suffering prolonged grief disorder in response to the loss of a human companion.”
To review the entire article, please click here
Please also review AIHCP’s Pet Loss Grief Support Certification and see if it meets your academic and professional goals. The program is online and independent study and open to qualified professionals seeking a four year certification in Pet Loss Grief Support.