What is complicated grief? A social constructionist answer.

Research into complicated grief assumes that it is a psychological disorder of the grieving individual. This article suggests seven other things that complicated grief may also be: a normalizing construct of psychiatric medicine, an operational requirement of bereavement agencies, a concept by which society as a whole and families can discipline mourning members, a label applied to those who actively resist cultural norms about grief, a product of a society obsessed with risk, and the result of negotiation between various parties in the bereavement field. If complicated grief exists, it is much more multi-faceted than is usually acknowledged.