Mind and mourning: The primacy of "we" in complicated grief

ABSTRACT Standard models of complicated grief rely on a self-other divided mind that reflects the physical separateness of individuals. In these models, grief persists for those mourners who cannot reorganize self-and-other mental representations or adapt to identity changes after loss. However, advances in cognitive science indicate that relationships are often processed via distributed social-cognitive coding whereby individuals together form a psychologically extended common mind. I propose a novel“we” hypothesis in which shared representa- tions, rather than self-other distinctions, shape the mind for a subgroup of mourners with complicated grief. Recognition of“we-experiences” in mourning can enhance grief theory, research, and practice.