DSM-5-TR to include prolonged grief disorder
Prolonged grief disorder will be included in the DSM-5-TR set to be released in March 2022.
The APA said in a press release that this condition is the newest to be added to its mental disorders manual.
Research across several decades showed many individuals had ongoing difficulties linked to bereavement that were significantly prolonged beyond expectations considered within cultural norms. After a 2-year process of review and public comment, APA’s board of trustees and assembly approved this DSM addition last fall.
According to the release, the disorder can occur “when someone close to the bereaved person has died within at least 6 months for children and adolescents, or within at least 12 months for adults.” Intense longings for the individual who died and preoccupation with thoughts of this person may manifest for most of the day and nearly every day for at least 1 month. The affected individual exhibits clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other significant functioning realms.
“The circumstances in which we are living, with more than 675,000 deaths due to COVID, may make prolonged grief disorder more prevalent,” APA President Vivian B. Pender, MD, said in the release. “If you’ve recently lost someone close to you, it’s very important to check in with yourself. Grief in these circumstances is normal, but not at certain levels and not most of the day, nearly every day for months.”
Symptoms include identity disruption, marked sense of disbelief regarding the death, avoidance of reminders that the person is dead and intense emotional pain, among others. The exceeding of expected social, cultural or religious norms by the duration of the individual’s bereavement are not better explained by another mental disorder for it to be considered prolonged grief disorder.
“Including prolonged grief disorder in the DSM-5-TR will mean that mental health clinicians and patients and families alike share an understanding of what normal grief looks like and what might indicate a long-term problem,” APA CEO and medical director Saul Levin, MD, MPA, said in the release. “Especially now, sharing information and increasing awareness about prolonged grief disorder is essential.”