Susan Anderson (psychotherapist)
While Kübler-Ross, Anderson, and others have attempted to define discrete stages of grief, such as an initial period of numbness leading to depression and finally to reorganization and recovery, most modern grief specialists recognize the variations and fluidity of grief experiences, that differ considerably in intensity and length among cultural groups and from person to person. No grief stage theory has been able to account for how people cope with loss, why they experience varying degrees and types of distress at different times, and how or when they adjust to a life without their loved one over time.
Grief Counseling (The Office)
"Entertainment Weekly"s Abby West expressed praise for an episode that "restored balance and order to our favorite paper-pushers while still nicely forwarding the storylines of TV's plainest super-non-couple." West was also pleased "to have Michael back to his usual insanity", and wrote that Pam "was priceless tonight, from the spot-on reaction shots to the movie-plotlines-as-my-pain gag she started to the almost-believably tender eulogy she delivered for the singing, er, impressionist bird, complete with the most tricked-out pencil-case coffin you've ever seen." Television Without Pity graded the episode with a B–. Michael's monologue about the five stages of grief has also been isolated for praise; Michael Sciannamea called it "the best line of the night," and in 2011, IGN's Cindy White selected it as one of the series' best.