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Human Growth and Development / Unit 17   HGD 2451 short lesson, about 20 seconds

Ambiguous Loss

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The idea

Ambiguous loss, Boss's concept, is loss without clarity or closure, inherently open-ended, so that grief may have no clear end.

In practice

A family whose husband and father, living with advanced dementia, is present but no longer the person he was.

Where people slip

Instead of closure, the therapeutic goal is finding meaning despite missing information, and increasing tolerance for ambiguity.

Your place on the trail

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