The psychology of death and mourning: From clinical work to death education

The mourning process is analyzed unifying the most significant contributions in psychiatry and dynamic psychology, psychosocial and anthropological thanatology, psycho-oncology and palliative medicine. The clinical aspects between diagnosis and prognosis, useful in defining how to prevent pathological tendencies, are discussed. The term "unresolved grief" is used in place of the definitions used in different fields and in the various editions of the DSM diagnostic manuals ("grief disorder", "pathological mourning", "complicated grief", etc.). Some models are described and compared vis-à-vis the DSMs’ definitions, highlighting the normality of suffering caused by death. The discussion on the relationships between risk and protective factors, depending on the different interventions (prevention, counseling and psychotherapy involving individuals, groups and communities) also hints at the possibility of introducing targeted paths of death education.

Keywords: Mourning, prolonged grief disorder, death education, prevention, psychological support

• The Integration of Stressful Life Experiences Scale and the Inventory of Complicated Spiritual Grief: The Italian Validation of Two Instruments for Meaning-Focused Assessments of Bereavement Robert A. Neimeyer, Ines Testoni, Lucia Ronconi, Gianmarco Biancalani, Marco Antonellini, Laura Dal Corso, in Behavioral Sciences /2021 pp.149
  DOI: 10.3390/bs11110149
• Solastalgia's mourning and the slowly evolving effect of asbestos pollution: A qualitative study in Italy Ines Testoni, Laura Mauchigna, Gaia Luisa Marinoni, Adriano Zamperini, Mihaela Bucuță, Gabriela Dima, in Heliyon e03024/2019 pp.e03024
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• Let’s Start With the End: Bibliodrama in an Italian Death Education Course on Managing Fear of Death, Fantasy-Proneness, and Alexithymia With a Mixed-Method Analysis Ines Testoni, Gianmarco Biancalani, Lucia Ronconi, Silvia Varani, in OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying /2021 pp.729
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• CHILDHOOD MOURNING AND LAMENT - WAYS OF TREATMENT Zampetoula Stavrianou, Kalliopi Pavlidou, in International Journal for Innovation Education and Research /2022 pp.245
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• Hardships in Italian Prisons During the COVID-19 Emergency: The Experience of Healthcare Personnel Ines Testoni, Giada Francioli, Gianmarco Biancalani, Sandro Libianchi, Hod Orkibi, in Frontiers in Psychology 619687/2021
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• Toward A New Eternalist Paradigm for Afterlife Studies: The Case of the Near-Death Experiences Argument Ines Testoni, Enrico Facco, Federico Perelda, in World Futures /2017 pp.442
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• Psychology Students' Perceptions of COVID-19 in a Death Education Course Ines Testoni, Erika Iacona, Cecilia Corso, Sara Pompele, Laura Dal Corso, Hod Orkibi, Michael Alexander Wieser, in Frontiers in Public Health 625756/2021
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• Assessment of self-efficacy for caregiving in oncology: Italian validation of the caregiver inventory (CGI-I) S. Serpentini, B. Guandalini, G. Tosin, L. Ronconi, G. Cristaldi, R. Amatulli, G. Deledda, S. Riccardi, S. Sommacal, L. Iannopollo, V. Calvo, T. V. Merluzzi, in BMC Palliative Care 166/2021
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• The Role of Family Physicians in Older People Care Ines Testoni, pp.395 (ISBN:978-3-030-78922-0)
• The effect of death education on fear of death amongst Italian adolescents: A nonrandomized controlled study Ines Testoni, Lucia Ronconi, Illene Noppe Cupit, Elisa Nodari, Guidalberto Bormolini, Annagiulia Ghinassi, Deborah Messeri, Claudia Cordioli, Adriano Zamperini, in Death Studies /2020 pp.179
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• Work And Spirituality Among People With Asperger Syndrome: An Exploratory Study Ines Testoni, Sofia Pesci, Ciro De Vincenzo, Laura Dal Corso, Adriano Zamperini, in Journal of Disability & Religion /2019 pp.178
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• “Before I die I want to …”: An experience of death education among university students of social service and psychology Ines Testoni, Erika Iacona, Sonia Fusina, Maddalena Floriani, Matteo Crippa, Andrea Maccarini, Adriano Zamperini, in Health Psychology Open 2055102918809759/2018
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• When Death Enters the Theater of Psychodrama: Perspectives and Strategies of Psychodramatists Ines Testoni, Silvia Cichellero, Kate Kirk, Virginia Cappelletti, Clara Cecchini, in Journal of Loss and Trauma /2019 pp.516
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• Un lutto speciale. Delegittimazioni culturali e rappresentazioni della morte nella perdita di un animale domestico Ines Testoni, Loriana De Cataldo, in PSICOTERAPIA E SCIENZE UMANE 3/2017 pp.413
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• Psychodrama and Moviemaking in a Death Education Course to Work Through a Case of Suicide Among High School Students in Italy Ines Testoni, Lucia Ronconi, Lorenza Palazzo, Michele Galgani, Antonio Stizzi, Kate Kirk, in Frontiers in Psychology 441/2018
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• Courage and representations of death in patients who are waiting for a liver transplantation Ines Testoni, Valentina Milo, Lucia Ronconi, Alessandra Feltrin, Adriano Zamperini, Maddalena Rodelli, Giacomo Germani, Umberto Cillo, Cornelia Duregger, in Cogent Psychology /2017 pp.1294333
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• The Role of Family Physicians in Older People Care Ines Testoni, Simone Cernesi, Federica Davolio, Marta Perin, Mariagiovanna Amoroso, Chiara Villani, Jacopo Demurtas, pp.407 (ISBN:978-3-030-78922-0)
• The Last Glance: How Aesthetic Observation of Corpses Facilitates Detachment in Grief Work Ines Testoni, Alessia Zielo, Chiara Schiavo, Erika Iacona, in Illness, Crisis & Loss /2022 pp.336
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• Grieving those Who Still Live: Loss Experienced by Parents of Transgender Children Ines Testoni, Manuela Anna Pinducciu, in Gender Studies /2019 pp.142
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• Forgiveness and Blame Among Suicide Survivors: A Qualitative Analysis on Reports of 4-Year Self-Help-Group Meetings Ines Testoni, Elisa Francescon, Diego De Leo, Anna Santini, Adriano Zamperini, in Community Mental Health Journal /2019 pp.360
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• Conflicts Between Women's Religiosity and Sense of Free Will in the Context of Elective Abortion: A Qualitative Study in the Worst Period of Italy's COVID-19 Crisis Ines Testoni, Nicoletta Finco, Shoshi Keisari, Hod Orkibi, Bracha Azoulay, in Frontiers in Psychiatry 619684/2021
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• Social Support in Perinatal Grief and Mothers’ Continuing Bonds: A Qualitative Study With Italian Mourners Ines Testoni, Jenni Bregoli, Sara Pompele, Andrea Maccarini, in Affilia /2020 pp.485
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• Can Desire and Wellbeing Be Promoted in Adolescents and Young Adults Affected by Cancer? PhotoTherapy as a Mirror That Increases Resilience Ines Testoni, Elena Tomasella, Sara Pompele, Maurizio Mascarin, Michael Alexander Wieser, in Frontiers in Psychology 966/2020
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Ines Testoni, Psicologia del lutto e del morire: dal lavoro clinico alla death education in "PSICOTERAPIA E SCIENZE UMANE" 2/2016, pp 229-252, DOI: 10.3280/PU2016-002004