Anticipatory Grief: A Family Systems Approach

Anticipatory grief is a natural process in response to an expected loss. Anticipatory grief not only affects the life of the person diagnosed with a terminal illness but the family and systems that they belong to. As a family transitions from anticipatory grief through bereavement, changes and adjustments will affect the relationships within the family system. In this position paper, the advantages of supporting the entire family through use of a family systems theoretical framework, as opposed to treating members of the family individually, will be explored.