Advances in Clinical Interventions on Grief

Dear Colleagues,

Grief is a natural and universal human experience in response to loss. However, for a significant proportion of individuals, grief can manifest as pathological reactions that cause suffering and impairment. These reactions encompass a spectrum of psychological disorders, including Prolonged Grief Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Adjustment Disorder, and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.

Given the prevalence of problematic grief reactions, estimated to affect up to 20% of bereaved individuals, there is a pressing need to develop and improve effective clinical interventions. This Special Issue aims to contribute to the growing body of knowledge in this critical area by focusing on the development, evaluation, and optimization of clinical interventions for grief. We invite submissions that investigate the following areas:

1. Efficacy of clinical interventions: studies examining the effects of existing or novel psychological interventions designed to support individuals at various stages of the grieving process, from prevention and acute intervention to long-term therapeutic approaches.
2. Tailoring variables for intervention: research exploring individual, interpersonal, or contextual factors that predict vulnerability to complicated grief or other pathological reactions, with the goal of facilitating early identification and targeted intervention.
3. Mechanisms of change: investigations into the psychological processes that underlie therapeutic change in individuals undergoing grief interventions, with the aim of enhancing the effectiveness and personalization of treatment.

We welcome manuscripts from diverse disciplines, including psychology, epidemiology, psychiatry, and related fields. We encourage submissions of experimental, correlational, epidemiological, or intervention studies that advance our understanding of grief and its treatment. Case reports, reviews, and methodological articles will also be considered.

This Special Issue will, we believe, provide a valuable platform for disseminating cutting-edge research and fostering collaboration among researchers and clinicians dedicated to improving the lives of bereaved individuals.

Dr. David Dias Dias Neto
Dr. Manuela Alexandra Coelho
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Behavioral Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• grief
• bereavement
• prolonged grief disorder
• mental health
• therapy
• psychological intervention
• death
• prevention
• treatment
• mechanisms of change