Grief and Loss Across the Lifespan

By VeriScorePrep Team · 5 min

Grief is a normal response to loss; the worker's role is to support, not to fix or pathologize.

Kübler-Ross stages

Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. Note: stages are not linear; people move between them, skip some, and revisit. The model describes common emotional processes, not a script.

Modern understanding

• Non-linear, individualized — no "proper" timeline or sequence.
• Continues bonds with the deceased are normal; grief does not require "moving on."
• Disenfranchised grief — losses not socially validated (e.g., death of an ex, a pet, a stigmatized relationship) — can be harder to process.
• Complicated grief: persistent intense yearning, preoccupation, and impairment months to years after loss — distinguishable from depression but with overlapping signs.

Considerations across age

• Children: grieve differently; often in play and behavior. Magical thinking in younger children can mean they fear they caused the death. Use concrete, honest language; avoid euphemisms.
• Adolescents: may grieve with peers, withdraw from family.
• Older adults: face cumulative losses; risk of complicated grief rises with bereavement after a long marriage.

Intervention

Active listening, validation, ritual, narrative, and (for complicated grief or co-occurring depression) referral to specialized grief therapy.