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Background: Complicated grief encompasses various presentations where aspects of grief do not become integrated into the bereaved person's life. Professionals' attitudes to complicated grief may impact how they engage with bereaved patients/clients. The aim of this study was to empirically examine the attitudes of mental health professionals, specifically psychologists, psychiatrists and counselor/psychotherapists, regarding complicated grief and to investigate any between profession-differences., Method: Psychiatrists, counselor/psychotherapists and psychologists were recruited using publicly available databases managed by professional bodies. A total of 185 professionals (71.8% female), returned a questionnaire containing usable data (23.8% response rate)., Results: Over two-thirds of the professionals (68.5%) supported the inclusion of complicated grief in diagnostic manuals while only a quarter (25.1%) thought that recognition of complicated grief might lead to the pathologization of 'normal' grief. The majority of respondents (83.0%) thought that diagnosing complicated grief would increase the likelihood of clients accessing support and there was no significant difference between the groups., Limitations: Although the response rate compares favorably with other studies it is nonetheless somewhat lower than optimum, and it is possible that those who responded were more interested in bereavement and consequently, that the attitudes held by participants are different from those who did not participate., Conclusion: The attitude to a diagnosis of complicated grief was more positive than the specialist literature suggests, with the benefits of having a diagnosis of complicated grief outweighing the risks of pathologization., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Objective: A systematic review and qualitative synthesis was undertaken to deduce the knowledge, attitudes, skills and training of mental health professionals regarding complicated grief (CG)., Methods: PsychInfo, Embase, Medline, CINAHL, PBSC, Web of Science and ERIC databases were used to identify relevant literature. Searches were executed from inception to September 2014., Results: The electronic search yielded 305 results. Forty-one papers were selected for full text review, 20 were included for analysis. 6 examined primary data, the remaining 14 being reviews, opinion or guideline pieces., Conclusions: Despite the lack of consensus on terminology, criteria and diagnosis, it appears that there is more than sufficient agreement within the CG research community regarding the knowledge and skills required to assist someone presenting with CG. A palpable fear of medicalising grief exists, but this would seem to be based on a conflation of normal grief and CG. This review highlights the mainly unidirectional nature of current research, the voice of the practitioner being largely unheard. A need for and an interest in training in CG was expressed., Practice Implications: There is an urgent need to translate research findings into clinical practice. Training must take account of attitudinal barriers to implementation, balancing evidence and stories., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: This paper considers the challenges regarding the development and use of self-report tools for sensitive, personal topics, in this case experiences of death and bereavement for individuals with intellectual disabilities (ID). These challenges are represented through the experience of the development of a self-report measure of complicated grief for use with individuals with intellectual disabilities. Materials and method: Focusing on the topic of bereavement, and using a case study format, this paper describes the development of a self-report measure for complicated grief. Results: Following three phases of questionnaire development, the Complicated Grief Questionnaire for People with Intellectual Disabilities (CGQ-ID) was adapted for use as a self-report measure with individuals with intellectual disabilities. The development process, informed by recommendations in the research literature, provides evidence that self-report is possible with individuals with intellectual disabilities even when the topic is as sensitive as bereavement and when abstract concepts such as emotions are involved. Conclusions: The adaptation process described here might provide a useful template for the development of other scales on sensitive topics.

Background: Care staff are a major source of information and support for people with intellectual disabilities (ID) following a bereavement. How staff perceive the loss experience has implications for the quality and level of support provided to individuals with ID at times of personal loss. Method: Twenty-four staff members participated in the three focus groups aimed at examining staff knowledge and attitudes to bereavement, experiences of supporting people with ID during times of loss, the degree of service agency support and staff training needs. Results: Staff described service users' reactions to loss as for the most part similar to those observed in the typical population. Staff reported a lack of confidence and uncertainty, particularly around operational procedures following bereavement. Conflicting attitudes between themselves and the service agency around bereavement support procedures and a lack of awareness of the emotional impact of grief on service users and staff were highlighted by participants along with the need for quality information, skill development and further training. Conclusions: Service agencies need to be more proactive in supporting staff and in developing policy and guidelines in conjunction with practical training initiatives. There is a general need for greater awareness of the emotional impact of loss on staff and service users within specialist services.

Given the research evidence that people with intellectual disability (ID) do grieve following bereavement, the present study aimed to describe and gather preliminary psychometric data for a version of the Inventory of Complicated Grief [Prigerson, H. G., Maciejewski, P. K., Reynolds, C. F., Bierhals, A. J., Newsom, J. T., Fasiczka, A., et al. (1995). Inventory of Complicated Grief: A scale to measure maladaptive symptoms of loss. "Psychiatry Research", 59, 65-79] adapted for use with this population. Carers completed the Complicated Grief Questionnaire for People with ID (CGQ-ID) for 76 individuals with ID, half of whom had experienced a parental bereavement within the last 2 years. The final scale and subscales (Separation Distress and Traumatic Grief) showed very good internal and inter-rater reliability and distinguished between the two groups. While the findings suggest that the CGQ-ID is suitable for identifying complicated grief-type symptoms among adults with ID, further research must be conducted to ascertain whether the findings can be replicated. (Contains 1 figure and 5 tables.)

The impact of a staff-training program on knowledge and confidence in supporting people with intellectual disabilities (ID) at the time of bereavement was examined. Thirty-three staff members from a Dublin, Ireland-based ID support service participated in the study. Both the training (n = 17) and control (n = 16) groups completed measures of confidence at the beginning and end of a 4-week period around supporting service users through a bereavement survey designed for the study, as well as the Staff Support and Satisfaction Questionnaire. During this interval, the training group completed a two-day training focusing on exploring existing strategies for supporting service users and providing staff with additional skills. Staff members also completed a survey of knowledge at the outset of the study. Over the 4 weeks, there was a significant increase in confidence among the training group, with no comparable changes in the control group. However, as predicted, neither group showed significant changes in general support or job satisfaction. The findings suggest that the training significantly increased staff members' confidence in their ability to respond to the challenges of support service users during bereavement. The study's findings also have a number of practical implications, including the need to provide appropriate support for staff.

Background: The influence of grief and bereavement on the lives of people with intellectual disabilities is currently receiving much interest. Many of the long-standing rituals associated with bereavement are still practised in Ireland, probably more than in many other Western countries. The present authors were interested in studying the experience of bereavement for people with intellectual disabilities in Ireland, and in making international comparisons. Method: This mixed method study was carried out using two questionnaires. The first was used to study national service and organisational approaches to bereavement. The second questionnaire (based on Murray et al. 2000 ) was used to study a staff group working in Ireland, assessing staff knowledge and understanding of the grieving process. The results were compared with a UK staff group who were assessed using the same questionnaire (Murray et al. 2000 ). Results: Staff and service attitudes were found to be very positive in supporting people with intellectual disabilities who have been bereaved. There is considerable understanding of the needs of bereaved individuals, and there is a high level of support in the participation in grief rituals. When compared with a UK staff group, Irish staffs were more inclined to encourage individuals to take part in bereavement rituals, though they had less actual experience in supporting bereaved people. Only one service had written bereavement guidelines. Conclusions: There appears to be cultural differences in the experience of bereavement for people with intellectual disabilities. This is important in the context of staff training and policy development in grief and bereavement.

The knowledge, attitudes, skills, and training of professionals regarding complicated grief influence their practice. We conducted 30 semi-structured interviews with psychiatrists, psychologists, and counselor/psychotherapists; the preliminary findings were contextualized via interviews with three experts in complicated grief research/practice. Findings suggest that professionals did not substantially rely on research evidence, favoring instead personal and professional knowledge. They expressed concern regarding the possible pathologization of normal grief that might arise from having a diagnosis of complicated grief. Deficits in professional training were evident. A need for an improved culture of collaboration between researchers and practitioners was identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the proliferation of grief research, there is no consensus regarding the naming of grief that does not follow a typical trajectory. How a concept such as grief that has become complicated, is named and understood will likely influence professionals' engagement with it. Professionals (n = 185; 71.8% female; mean age 51.9 years; SD = 8.9) defined complicated grief in a free-text box, within a survey. Statistically significant differences were found regarding extended duration, being stuck, and the circumstances surrounding the death. The differences in professionals' views of complicated grief and its multidisciplinary nature underscore the need for consensus regarding its nomenclature and definition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The influence of grief and bereavement on the lives of people with intellectual disabilities is currently receiving much interest. Many of the long-standing rituals associated with bereavement are still practised in Ireland, probably more than in many other Western countries. The present authors were interested in studying the experience of bereavement for people with intellectual disabilities in Ireland, and in making international comparisons. This mixed method study was carried out using two questionnaires. The first was used to study national service and organisational approaches to bereavement. The second questionnaire (based on ) was used to study a staff group working in Ireland, assessing staff knowledge and understanding of the grieving process. The results were compared with a UK staff group who were assessed using the same questionnaire ( ). Staff and service attitudes were found to be very positive in supporting people with intellectual disabilities who have been bereaved. There is considerable understanding of the needs of bereaved individuals, and there is a high level of support in the participation in grief rituals. When compared with a UK staff group, Irish staffs were more inclined to encourage individuals to take part in bereavement rituals, though they had less actual experience in supporting bereaved people. Only one service had written bereavement guidelines. There appears to be cultural differences in the experience of bereavement for people with intellectual disabilities. This is important in the context of staff training and policy development in grief and bereavement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]