This article is written in accordance with the principles of work in IPT. Interpersonal therapy is an evidence-based approach that aims to improve relationships between people. IPT is a recommended method for the treatment of depression, bipolar disorder. IPT identifies the following 4 areas of work: grief (loss of a loved one or pet), role reversal (when a person’s social role has changed), role disputes (when people have different ideas about how to the other must behave), interpersonal deficit (when a person does not have close relationships and does not know how to create them). In this series of posts we will look at what grief is and how it is worked with in IPT. This is a translation of the original article by the author of the approach on how to work with grief. What is grief? Since ancient times, it has been recognized that the death of a loved one is not only painful, but can also develop into a form of depression. A century ago, Freud described this distinction between mourning and melancholia (Freud, 1917). Death means the loss of a loved one, relationships, potential social support, and the severance of interpersonal connections. The loss of someone close can tear the fabric of a person's life, creating interpersonal emptiness. We are supposed to notice such events, and the signal of interpersonal loss manifests itself as a strong emotional reaction. Common Grief Many of the symptoms that typically accompany the death of a loved one resemble depression. In a normal grief reaction, a person feels sad and may lose interest in normal pleasures, have trouble sleeping, lose appetite and energy, and feel distracted even when performing routine tasks. These symptoms usually resolve over several months as the person processes the loss and reflects on the memorable experience with the deceased. This period of grief or mourning is a normal, beneficial, adaptive process and should be encouraged rather than pathologized. Further, if the patient is clearly not himself or simply wants to talk, the therapist does not need to discourage this. Having friends, family and religious support in the wake of death can be comforting, but some patients lack this support or feel isolated and need help during this time. Because IPT benefits patients with complicated grief at the level of major depression, it is also likely to benefit patients with milder symptoms, including painful ordinary grief. Complicated Grief Grief is a painful emotional experience, and some people find their emotional reactions too overwhelming to cope with. deal with it. The death of a loved one (p. 44) tops the scale of stress from life events (e.g., Holmes & Rahe, 1967). Perceiving the feeling of grief as dangerous, too painful to contemplate, they try to “busy themselves” with other things, drowning themselves out in the hope that the feelings will subside. They may avoid their feelings by organizing funerals and caring for other mourners instead of mourning themselves. Sadness over loss can feel dangerous. If the relationship was in conflict, for example due to the death of a former abusive parent, the patient may feel guilty for being angry at the deceased (“What a terrible person I am, for being angry at the deceased, at someone who can no longer defend himself!”) . These patients suffer from not grieving. Avoidance of emotions leads to the fact that a person tries to live by holding them back, distancing himself from emotional life and spending a lot of emotional energy. This delay and avoidance of grief is characteristic of bereavement, a long-recognized form of major depression. Less commonly, you may encounter a patient who has essentially become a professional mourner, whose entire life is devoted to remembering the dead. The child's room may have been left as it was when he committed suicide years ago, the pizza still rotting in the cardboard box. Such patients took on the role