CT Complicated Grief & Trauma 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which diagnostic criterion distinguishes Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) from Major Depressive Disorder?
- Pervasive low mood lasting most of the day
- Intense yearning or longing specifically for the deceased (Correct answer)
- Feelings of worthlessness and excessive guilt
- Recurrent thoughts of death unrelated to the deceased
Correct answer: Intense yearning or longing specifically for the deceased
PGD is characterized by intense, persistent yearning or longing specifically for the deceased, differentiating it from the pervasive depressed mood central to MDD.
Question 2: The Traumatic Grief Inventory (TGI-SR) primarily assesses which condition?
- Post-traumatic stress disorder severity
- Prolonged Grief Disorder symptom severity (Correct answer)
- Acute stress reaction following sudden loss
- Complicated bereavement in children
Correct answer: Prolonged Grief Disorder symptom severity
The TGI-SR is a validated self-report tool designed specifically to measure symptom severity of Prolonged Grief Disorder in bereaved adults.
Question 3: In trauma-informed grief therapy, what is the primary purpose of the 'stabilization' phase?
- Processing traumatic memories in full detail
- Building coping skills before addressing loss narrative (Correct answer)
- Encouraging immediate emotional expression of grief
- Challenging cognitive distortions about the death
Correct answer: Building coping skills before addressing loss narrative
Stabilization builds a client's emotional regulation and coping resources before trauma processing begins, preventing overwhelm.
Question 4: A widow reports she cannot stop thinking about the moment she found her husband dead and avoids all reminders of him. Which comorbidity pattern is MOST likely?
- Prolonged Grief Disorder alone
- Major Depressive Disorder alone
- Comorbid PGD and PTSD (Correct answer)
- Adjustment Disorder with depressed mood
Correct answer: Comorbid PGD and PTSD
Intrusive images of the death scene combined with avoidance behaviors suggest PTSD, while intense grief yearning points to PGD—these frequently co-occur after traumatic bereavement.
Question 5: Which theoretical framework posits that grief becomes complicated when the bereaved cannot integrate the loss into their assumptive world?
- Continuing Bonds Theory
- Dual Process Model
- Meaning Reconstruction Theory (Correct answer)
- Attachment Theory
Correct answer: Meaning Reconstruction Theory
Meaning Reconstruction Theory (Neimeyer) holds that loss shatters core assumptions, and complicated grief results when the bereaved fail to rebuild a coherent meaning system.
Question 6: A clinician using Complicated Grief Treatment (CGT) introduces 'revisiting' exercises. What is the therapeutic rationale?
- To help clients forget traumatic memories through habituation
- To promote emotional processing and reduce avoidance of loss-related distress (Correct answer)
- To reinforce continuing bonds with the deceased
- To identify cognitive distortions about personal responsibility for the death
Correct answer: To promote emotional processing and reduce avoidance of loss-related distress
Revisiting in CGT involves repeatedly engaging with the story of the death to reduce avoidance and allow emotional processing and adaptation.
Question 7: Which population has research shown to be at elevated risk for Prolonged Grief Disorder following bereavement?
- Widowed spouses, especially those with insecure attachment styles (Correct answer)
- Adult children who lose parents after prolonged illness
- Siblings bereaved in mid-adulthood
- Grandchildren who experience the loss of a grandparent
Correct answer: Widowed spouses, especially those with insecure attachment styles
Spousal bereavement combined with insecure attachment is among the strongest risk factor combinations for developing PGD.
CT Complicated Grief & Trauma 2
Which diagnostic criterion distinguishes Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) from Major Depressive Disorder?