Inaugural speech professor Geert Smid: 'Grief can be traumatic'

20 oktober 2020

Grief disorder is a new concept in social care. The treatment of grief requires a different way of looking at it and providing care, according to professor Geert Smid, psychiatrist at Arq Nationaal Psychotrauma Centrum and extraordinary professor 'Psychotrauma, loss and grief after disasters and violence' at the University of Humanistic Studies. In his inaugural speech A framework of meaning attribution following loss, he examines the way in which we give meaning to loss. In recent months Geert Smid also studied the effects of grief after the loss of a loved one by Covid-19.

In recent years a so-called ‘grief disorder’ has been included in formal diagnostic systems for the first time. More specifically, in the eleventh edition of the International Classification of Diseases of the World Health Organization (2018) and the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) or DSM-5, the American system that is also used in the Netherlands. If grief reactions are severe and give rise to long-term impairments in daily functioning, a diagnosis of a grief disorder may apply. It is estimated that about 10% of the relatives develop a grief disorder after loss of a loved one due to natural causes of death. In addition to these 10% that may benefit from specialized care such as psychotherapy, it is estimated that around 30% of surviving relatives need some form of non-specialized, organized support.

In order to be able to provide effective support, it is crucial to understand how meaning attribution takes place following bereavement and grief. How do we interpret the loss of loved ones? How do we evaluate ourselves and the world when something happens to our loved ones that we have always tried to prevent through our daily care? How do we learn to cope? In his inaugural speech Geert Smid discusses the question of what circumstances have an impact on meaning attribution to the loss of loved ones. What determines how we evaluate, interpret and attribute meaning to loss experiences? In other words, what are determinants of meaning attribution following loss of loved ones? He then considers the implications for research.

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(text in Dutch followed by full English translation)

Grief disorder is a new concept in social care. The treatment of grief requires a different way of looking at it and providing care, according to professor Geert Smid, psychiatrist at Arq Nationaal Psychotrauma Centrum and extraordinary professor 'Psychotrauma, loss and grief after disasters and violence' at the University of Humanistic Studies. In his inaugural speech A framework of meaning attribution following loss, he examines the way in which we give meaning to loss. In recent months Geert Smid also studied the effects of grief after the loss of a loved one by Covid-19.