Complicated Spiritual Grief

For many bereaved individuals, faith, religion, and spirituality can prove to be a supportive and comforting resource following the loss of anyone or anything that leaves a sense of deprivation and yearning. However, for some who are grieving, the relationship to their higher power or spiritual community is painfully wounded, leading to the secondary loss of his/her/their spiritual resources, connections, and spiritual crisis.

Complicated spiritual grief (CSG) has been shown to exacerbate the bereavement experience for some spiritually inclined grievers. Clinicians are confronted with religious and spiritual topics in psychotherapy, especially when working with bereft clients. Therefore, knowing how to identify the impact of CSG in the grieving process is imperative. Clinicians will be able to recognize the impact of CSG on the bereaved’s grieving process, increasing skills in conducting a comprehensive clinical assessment and development of effective treatment plans. As a result, grief therapy will more effectively identify and treat all domains of the client’s functioning following or anticipating a loss.

Christina Zampitella, PsyD, FT, is a licensed clinical psychologist and a Fellow of Thanatology through the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC). She is the founder and owner of The Center for Grief and Trauma Therapy, co-owner and Director of Clinical Services at Integrative Psychology Group, and a professional speaker. She teaches in undergraduate and graduate level psychology programs for several universities, focusing her courses and publications on death, loss, grief, and trauma. She served as the chair for the Continuing Education Committee for the San Diego Psychological Association from 2007-2009 and the Delaware Psychological Association from 2018-1019. Dr. Zampitella specializes in death, loss, bereavement, integrative psychology, and nature-based therapy. She is the former resident psychologist on Fox 5 News in San Diego and often appeared on NBC News in California and Philadelphia. She has been featured in Elle magazine, BuzzFeed, Washington Post, and The Huffington Post.

This online workshop will give you instant access to 1.5 hours of video content, accessible via streaming on our website, as well as downloadable PowerPoint slides (PDF). You can view the course content in your own time, there is no time limit on access.

 The duration of this course is 1.5 learning hours.

A certificate of completion will be generated upon finishing the course and completing a short assessment quiz. If the certificate is not showing, please confirm you have marked all sections as ‘Complete’. Please consult your professional organisation/association to confirm whether you are able to claim any CPD points/hours for this online workshop.