Disciplinary Wounds: Has Grief Become the Identified Patient for a Field Gone Awry?

Abstract

In the last few decades, grief and loss research in the psychological domain has focused almost exclusively on its dysfunctional nature. I examine what is underneath these questions about pathology and suggest that our discipline is suffering from an attachment wound where we have dissociated from our historical roots when it comes to the study of grief and loss. I argue that we need to ask new questions about grief and loss and present two examples of my collaborative work to illustrate innovative ways of thinking about and researching grief.