The holiday season, often considered a time of joy and togetherness, can also be one of the most challenging periods for those who are grieving a loss.
As a clinical psychologist and professor of psychiatry and neurobehavioral sciences working with cancer patients and their families, I see the profound toll grief takes on people. I’ve also experienced grief personally, both when my mother died suddenly at the age of 66 and when my father passed after a long illness at the age of 84. Those experiences, combined with my research, have driven me to dedicate much of my career to understanding grief and its effects, and to finding effective ways to support those who are struggling with it.