Do i need ssri's for grieving so hard?

Maybe: It depends on his history and he can seek professional advice from psychologists or psychiatrists.

Not for grief, but..: Grief is a normal reaction to an important loss. We don't medicate normal reactions. But sometimes grief becomes prolonged or self-destructive — it can turn into a clinical depression. Although there's some controversy in psychiatry right now about where to draw the line, there are certainly cases where grief can trigger a severe depression that needs to be treated with meds and/or therapy.

Grief: You need grief work. Medications only help symptoms. Talking to a grief counselor definitely helps.