Treating Complicated Grief in Suicide Survivors

Grief is the process of healing after loss, and sometimes this process becomes complicated. In complicated grief following the death of a loved one, feelings of loss are debilitating and do not improve even after time passes. Painful emotions are so long-lasting and severe that the bereaved person has trouble accepting the loss and resuming their own life. Severity of the condition can also be influenced by the cause of death; suicide deaths can be especially challenging in respect to grief. The overall objective of this multi-site study is to compare the efficacy of Complicated Grief Therapy with or without the medication citalopram. Both the medication and the therapeutic intervention have shown positive results treating complicated grief, and the question is whether one or the other has superior effects, or is the combination of the two optimal. For this study, 72 individuals who are bereaved by suicide loss are studied and compared with those who are bereaved from other causes of death who participated in a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health. The goals are to determine if there are unique aspects to complicated grief when it results from a loss by suicide, and to determine potential treatments for those with complicated grief after a suicide.