Bereavement and its complications in medical patients: a guide for consultation-liaison psychiatrists

Bereaved individuals consult their physicians, including psychiatrists, at an increased frequency for the many symptoms of normal or pathological grief as well as related medical and psychiatric disorders. As many as 25 percent of patients seen by a consultation-liaison service may be suffering from recent unresolved grief. The consultation-liaison psychiatrist needs to be sensitive to the manifestations and course of bereavement in both its uncomplicated and pathological forms. This report provides an overview of these issues as a guide for the accurate assessment and treatment of this often unconsidered condition.