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Grief as a Mental Disorder: A Critical Assessment
Grief is a natural human experience, yet there's been a growing trend to pathologize it and describe certain grief responses as "abnormal." This course is designed for people who want to understand the historical evolution of how society views grief and the key factors that have influenced the diagnostic model, which sometimes conceptualizes grief as a mental disorder. This course aims to provide learners with a critical perspective on these issues, empowering them to better understand the controversy and to support people who are grieving.
This self-paced course can be accessed anytime (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) and completed in your own timeframe. The estimated time to complete the course is 3 hours, and you can pause and resume your work at any point. When you successfully finish the course, a Certificate of Completion will be issued to you within a week.
Meet Our Grief Educators
Senior Director of Advocacy & Education
Donna Schuurman, EdD, FT
Donna L. Schuurman, EdD, FT previously served as Dougy Center’s Executive Director from 1991–2015 and is an internationally recognized authority on grief and bereaved children, teens, and families, and the author of Never the Same: Coming to Terms with the Death of a Parent (St. Martin’s Press, 2003), co-author of The Dougy Center Model: Peer Grief Support for Children, Teens, and Families (Dougy Center, 2021), among other publications. Dr. Schuurman has worked directly with families and communities impacted by large-scale tragedies and natural disasters, including as a trainer for the FBI and National Transportation Safety Board family assistance staff. She is a national trainer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and co-authored Children, Teens, and Suicide Loss, a joint publication of AFSP and Dougy Center.
Director of Training and Program Equity
Cristina Chipriano, LCSW-S, FT
Cristina M. Chipriano, LCSW-S, FT, has been in the field of childhood bereavement since 2015. Her work has focused on overseeing the programming for and outreach to historically marginalized children, teens and families. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the states of Oregon and Texas. She currently contributes to the National Alliance for Children’s Grief Membership Committee, and the Multnomah County Youth Suicide Prevention Coalition, among others. Her previous roles include serving as a grief professional for Sesame Street Community Grief Project, she served on the Board of Directors of the National Alliance for Children’s Grief and the Executive Board of Latino Social Workers of Greater Houston.
Advocacy & Education Manager
Jana DeCristofaro, LCSW
Jana DeCristofaro, LCSW, is the Advocacy & Education Manager at Dougy Center.
Since 2002, Jana has coordinated peer support groups for children, teens, young adults, and adults. She also provides consultation and training for grieving families, students, community members, and professionals locally and nationally.
Jana is the host and producer of Grief Out Loud, Dougy Center’s podcast, which features interviews with other professionals in the grief world and those with lived experience of grief.
She has also facilitated community responses for schools and community organizations after a death.