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Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy pp 1–5Cite as

Ambiguous Loss in Couple and Family Therapy

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Introduction

Ambiguous loss theory was created by Pauline Boss, PhD in the 1970s, from initial research conducted with indigenous women and wives of Navy pilots missing in action Boss (2000). Dr. Boss continued her research with families of missing persons and with families living with a loved one with a dementia diagnosis. Researchers and clinicians continue Dr. Boss’s work in ambiguous loss by applying the theory to adoption, GLBTQ communities, hoarding disorder, refugee populations, bereavement, military families, divorce, among many other diagnoses and populations.

Theoretical Context for Concept

Dr. Boss began her research first in boundary ambiguity in families. As she continued her work, she noted that what she was finding went beyond boundary ambiguity to a lack of identifying and naming loss. Clinicians and researchers continuing Dr. Boss’s work in ambiguous loss have applied the theory to a variety of individual and family losses. Ambiguous loss theory fills a gap in marriage...

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References

  • Boss, P. (2000). Ambiguous loss: Learning how to live with unresolved grief. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University.

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  • Boss, P. (2006). Loss, Trauma and Resilience: Therapeutic work with ambiguous loss. New York: WW Norton.

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  • Boss, P. (2011). Loving someone who has dementia: How to find hope while coping with stress and grief. New York: Jossey-Bass.

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  • Boss, P., & Yeats, J. (2014). Ambiguous loss: A complicated type of grief when loved ones disappear. Bereavement Care, 33(2), 63–69.

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  • Sampson, J. M., Yeats, J. R., & Harris, S. M. (2012). An evaluation of an ambiguous loss based psychoeducational support group for family members of people who hoard: A pilot study. Contemporary Family Therapy, 34(4), 566–581.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. LMFT LLC, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Janet Yeats

Authors
  1. Janet Yeats
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Janet Yeats .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Jay Lebow

  2. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Anthony Chambers

  3. The Family Institute at Northwestern, Evanston, Illinois, USA

    Douglas C. Breunlin

Section Editor information

  1. Employee Assistance Program, McLeod Health, Florence, SC, USA

    Farrah Hughes Ph.D., ABPP

  2. The Family Institute at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

    Allen Sabey Ph.D.

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© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG

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Yeats, J. (2018). Ambiguous Loss in Couple and Family Therapy. In: Lebow, J., Chambers, A., Breunlin, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Couple and Family Therapy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_468-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15877-8_468-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-15877-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-15877-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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