Culturally sensitive assessment of traumatic grief

Abstract

Background: Migrants and refugees are at increased risk of traumatic loss of loved ones that may cause specific psychopathology. Ways of dealing with bereavement and grief are influenced by the norms of one’s cultural identity. Cultural assessment of bereavement and grief is therefore needed for a comprehensive evaluation of grief-related psychopathology and for negotiating appropriate treatment (Smid et al., 2018). Objective: To evaluate the risk of psychopathology related to traumatic and multiple loss in refugees and to describe a culturally sensitive assessment of traumatic grief. Method: We evaluated the effects of traumatic and multiple losses of family members and friends on psychopathology, disability and quality of life in Iraqi asylum seekers in the Netherlands (Hengst et al., 2018). To facilitate clinical exploration of cultural aspects of bereavement and grief, we developed a set of brief, person-centred and open-ended questions as a draft supplementary module to the DSM-5 Cultural Formulation Interview (CFI; Smid et al., 2018).> Results: The loss of a loved one was reported by 87.6% of the sample. Traumatic and multiple losses of family members independently predicted psychopathology (Hengst et al., 2018). Cultural ways of dealing with bereavement and grief include cultural traditions related to death, bereavement and mourning as well as help-seeking and coping (Smid et al., 2018). Conclusions: Clinicians need to assess psychopathology related to traumatic loss in a culturally sensitive way, especially when working with migrants and refugees. The proposed supplementary module bereavement and grief to the DSM-5 CFI supports such assessment.