Navigating Prolonged Grief: Evidence-Based Strategies for Assessment and Treatment

This presentation provides mental health professionals with a clinically focused exploration of Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD), grounded in the latest research and evidence-based practice. Attendees will learn how to distinguish PGD from usual continuing grief and commonly co-occurring psychiatric conditions of major depression and PTSD. Emphasis is placed on clinical application and include case examples. The session highlights validated assessment tools to support diagnosis and differential assessment. Building on this foundation, the presentationreviews main evidence-based therapeutic approaches for PGD, highlighting Prolonged Grief Therapy as the treatment with strongest empirical support to date.

Learning Objectives

• Describe key symptoms of Prolonged Grief Disorder.
• Explain differences between Prolonged Grief Disorder and usual continuing grief, as well as commonly co-occurring conditions of major depression and PTSD.
• Identify evidence-based treatment approaches for prolonged grief.