Grief is a universal experience, but one which affects every individual differently. A grieving person might feel guilty, listless, frightened, or angry. And at a time when they most need support, the bereaved may find other people turning away from them, not really knowing how to talk to them about their feelings and the person they’ve lost. So how can we learn to better cope with grief in ourselves and in others?

In this episode, Ella Rhodes, journalist for The Psychologist, speaks to two experts who are working to help us understand how people process grief and what can be done to support those who are grieving. Our guests are Dr Mary-Frances O'Connor, Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Arizona and author of The Grieving Brain, and Jane Harris, psychotherapist and co-founder of The Good Grief Project.

Episode credits:

Presented and produced by Ella Rhodes. Script edits by Matthew Warren. Mixing and editing by Jeff Knowler. PsychCrunch theme music by Catherine Loveday and Jeff Knowler. Artwork by Tim Grimshaw.

Further resources

• More information about The Good Grief Project can be found at the project's website
• Check out Dr Mary-Frances O'Connor's website for more on her book The Grieving Brain, as well as a list of publications including those discussed in this episode.
• Last year, Jon Sutton interviewed Dr Mary-Frances O'Connor for The Psychologist
• Also in The Psychologist: Elaine Kasket talks to Bjørn Johnson about his film Memory Box: Echoes of 9/11, and discusses the themes of the film with Jane Harris.

PsychCrunch is sponsored by Routledge Psychology.