ABSTRACT
For many, experiencing grief following a death-related loss can be difficult to fully understand, define, and process. North American culture remains largely undereducated, either formally or informally, about this very natural, universal, and necessary response to loss. While various cultures are accepting of, and adept at, creating rituals surrounding this process, there is often a struggle to understand grief and mourning and a reluctance to allow this vital process to unfold. Given that this reluctance typically occurs even when a loss is uncomplicated, it may be especially true when a death or a series of deaths occurs in a traumatic way, under conditions that not only trigger a prolonged interruption in the trajectory of the bereaved's mourning process but also his or her neuropsychological functioning. Moreover, particular attention must be paid when a traumatic loss occurs during childhood or adolescence because of the important emotional, psychosocial, and neurobiological (i.e., brain and nervous system) development that occurs during this life stage.
