Judith Eve Rosen is a licensed clinical social worker and veterinary social worker in private practice in New York City. She is a graduate of the veterinary social work program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, trained in Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and prolonged grief disorder, and the author of Life After Pet Loss: Daily Reflections for Working Through Grief. She appeared as a guest across four episodes of Peace of Mind for Pet Parents, hosted by Karen Wylie, EdD and Gail Pope of BrightHaven Caregiver Academy.

Veterinary social work is a licensed mental health specialty that applies social work principles to the human-animal bond. Veterinary social workers support grieving pet parents, help veterinary staff navigate compassion fatigue and moral injury, facilitate animal-assisted interventions in healthcare settings, and work at the intersection of animal welfare and family wellbeing. The field was pioneered at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Most pet parents have never heard of veterinary social work — but almost all could benefit from knowing it exists.

Guilt, clinically and legally, is the emotion that arises when someone has intentionally caused harm. Regret is the emotion that arises when someone makes a decision based on the best information they had at the time and wishes the outcome had been different. Most pet parents who believe they feel guilty about an end-of-life decision are actually experiencing regret — they never intended harm, they did not know what the outcome would be, and they acted out of love. Licensed clinical social worker Judith Eve Rosen, LCSW addresses this distinction directly in Episode 059 of Peace of Mind for Pet Parents.

Anticipatory grief is the grief that begins before a pet dies — often from the moment a serious diagnosis is received. It includes the accumulating losses of illness and decline: loss of mobility, loss of independence, loss of shared activities and routines. It is real grief, and it can be processed and supported the same way grief after loss can be. Judith Eve Rosen, LCSW discusses anticipatory grief in depth in Episode 057 of Peace of Mind for Pet Parents.

Yes. When pet loss involves sudden or traumatic circumstances — an accident, an unexpected death, a medical emergency — it can produce PTSD symptoms including flashbacks, nightmares, hypervigilance, and avoidance. A licensed mental health professional trained in trauma can help. Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) is one evidence-based approach used to treat trauma related to pet loss. Judith Eve Rosen, LCSW discusses pet loss and PTSD in Episode 057 of Peace of Mind for Pet Parents.

The current DSM-5 definition of prolonged grief disorder technically applies to the loss of a human being, not an animal companion. However, licensed pet loss therapists — including Judith Eve Rosen, LCSW — observe that grieving pet parents frequently display the same clinical pattern: withdrawal from daily life, inability to engage in meaningful activities, and significant difficulty functioning a year or more after the loss. The clinical support and therapeutic frameworks associated with prolonged grief disorder are fully available to pet parents, even where a formal diagnosis may not apply.

The continuing bond is a concept in grief theory that describes the ongoing connection that bereaved individuals maintain with those they have lost — including animals. Rather than viewing grief as a process that ends in "letting go," continuing bond theory recognizes that love and connection persist after death, and that maintaining a relationship with a lost companion is a healthy and valid part of healing. Karen Wylie, EdD, Gail Pope, and Judith Eve Rosen, LCSW discuss rituals and the continuing bond in Episode 061 of Peace of Mind for Pet Parents.

Disenfranchised grief is grief that is not openly acknowledged or validated by the people and culture around the bereaved person. Pet loss is one of the most common forms of disenfranchised grief — many pet parents are told to "get over it" or "just get another pet" by people who do not understand the depth of the human-animal bond. This lack of social recognition can intensify and complicate the grief experience. Episode 059 of Peace of Mind for Pet Parents addresses disenfranchised grief directly.

Cognitive Processing Therapy is an evidence-based treatment developed from cognitive behavioral therapy. It helps people examine the thoughts — often beliefs like "it was my fault" or "I should have done something different" — that keep them stuck in trauma and prevent them from accessing and processing their grief. Using structured worksheets and Socratic questioning, CPT helps people examine the evidence for and against those beliefs and arrive at a fuller, more accurate picture of what happened. Judith Eve Rosen, LCSW is trained in CPT and discusses it in Episode 059 of Peace of Mind for Pet Parents.

Grief is a natural human response to loss and does not need to be treated as a disorder. However, if a pet parent is still significantly unable to function in daily life — unable to go places they once loved, engage in meaningful activities, or maintain basic routines — a year or more after their loss, speaking with a licensed mental health professional may help. Seeking support is not a betrayal of the bond shared with an animal companion. Judith Eve Rosen, LCSW addresses this question compassionately in Episode 057 of Peace of Mind for Pet Parents.

The DSM-5 — the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition — is the clinical reference guide used by licensed mental health professionals in the United States to identify and diagnose behavioral and emotional health conditions. It is published by the American Psychiatric Association and sets the standard criteria that therapists, psychologists, and social workers use when evaluating a client's experience. In the context of pet loss, the DSM-5 matters because it recently added prolonged grief disorder as a recognized diagnosis — acknowledging that grief, under certain conditions, can significantly impair a person's ability to function and may benefit from clinical treatment. For pet parents who have been struggling long after a loss, this recognition means that what they are experiencing has a name, a clinical framework, and trained professionals — like pet loss therapists and veterinary social workers — who are equipped to help.