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This mixed-method Writing-for-wellbeing pilot study used a pre-post-follow-up design with 20 adults in two groups (10 in a bereaved group and 10 in a non-death/living losses group) to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of a longitudinal writing intervention in helping participants to work through their grief. Participants completed measures of prolonged grief, adaptive coping, anxiety and depression, and meaning reconstruction. The qualitative analysis was based on a satisfaction questionnaire that included open-ended questions. The intervention was well-received, safe, and personally valuable. The bereaved group reported reductions in symptoms of anxiety, depression, and prolonged grief, and increases in adaptive meaning, help seeking, and spiritual support. The living losses group reported a decrease in help seeking.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought unprecedented levels of grief and psychological distress in community samples. We examined unique pandemic grief risk factors, dysfunctional grief, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms, general psychiatric distress, disrupted meaning, and functional impairment in a treatment-seeking sample of people bereaved from COVID-19 in the United Kingdom. A sample of 183 participants (91.80% female; M = 47.40 years) completed an online survey as part of an intake assessment for a grief support and referral service. Most reported clinically elevated PTSD symptoms (83.1%), psychiatric distress (64.0%), and functional impairment (56.8%). A smaller, but still concerning percentage (39.3%) reported clinically significant symptoms of dysfunctional grief. Disrupted meaning substantially mediated the relationship between risk factors and all four outcomes. Counsellors should address the breadth of psychological distress in those bereaved by COVID-19 and hone their skills in promoting meaning making in the wake of the trauma and loss generated by the pandemic.

AbstractMeaning reconstruction is a central process in bereavement adaptation. However, clinical measures or means for identifying individuals whose struggles with meaning making have become dysfunctional have yet to be developed for clinicians to readily use in practice. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic effectiveness of the Integration of Stressful Life Experiences Scale-Short Form (ISLES-SF) for measuring clinically significant struggles with meaning making of loss. The results of this study of 118 bereaved adults support the diagnostic use of the ISLES-SF (sensitivity of 83% and specificity of 73%), as well as an identified cut-score (≥ 14) that researchers and clinicians can employ to accurately and efficiently identify those whose difficulties with making meaning of loss have become debilitating. The results also showed that those who scored in the clinical range of the ISLES-SF displayed higher levels of anxiety, depression and prolonged grief than those not struggling with meaning making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the unexpected death of a child, bereaved parents require prompt access to helpful support systems. Online therapeutic writing courses can make such support accessible. Because few studies have included bereaved fathers as participants, we explored the experiences of fathers whose children died unexpectedly and who were part of an online course of therapeutic writing in Norway. We piloted two courses (group 1, six weeks, n = 9 ; group 2, 5 weeks, n = 5). We describe our methodological considerations for using poetic representations in qualitative health research and present four poetic representations based on fieldwork notes written by the principal investigator. Then, we triangulate and narratively analyze them together with two collective poems written by participants from each group; excerpts of the writings from two fathers, one per group; evaluation surveys (n = 4; n = 3); and, anonymous check-out journaling from the second group (n = 3). Resistance was a salient feature of our participants' grief, and writing enabled them to both be in contact with their emotional world and process difficult emotions as they looked for meaning despite the death of their children. Those who attended the most classes perceived the course as transformative, being part of an ongoing self-exploration, and a possibility to continue and strengthen the bond with their children. Our findings mirror the complexities of the grief experiences of fathers, giving account of their need to find a rhythm to dive into their emotional world, the importance of peer support, and the value of diversifying intervention techniques to meet individual needs and preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) has become a subject of increased interest among both researchers and practitioners, owing both to its recent inclusion in the DSM-5-TR and the growing evidence of widespread complications of bereavement in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. From a set of 467 studies obtained from the Scopus database during the period 2009 to 2022, the present research provides bibliographic data on the most influential authors on the subject, most relevant journals based on the number of documents published, a keyword analysis of the focus of this work, and an overall characterization of the scientific literature on PGD. The Biblioshiny application along with VOSviewer software was used for the analysis and visual depiction of the results. Both the scientific and applied implications of this analysis are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundBereavement is a universal experience, and its association with excess morbidity and mortality is well established. Nevertheless, grief becomes a serious health concern for a relative few. For such individuals, intense grief persists, is distressing and disabling, and may meet criteria as a distinct mental disorder. At present, grief is not recognized as a mental disorder in the DSM-IV or ICD-10. The goal of this study was to determine the psychometric validity of criteria for prolonged grief disorder (PGD) to enhance the detection and potential treatment of bereaved individuals at heightened risk of persistent distress and dysfunction.Methods and findingsA total of 291 bereaved respondents were interviewed three times, grouped as 0-6, 6-12, and 12-24 mo post-loss. Item response theory (IRT) analyses derived the most informative, unbiased PGD symptoms. Combinatoric analyses identified the most sensitive and specific PGD algorithm that was then tested to evaluate its psychometric validity. Criteria require reactions to a significant loss that involve the experience of yearning (e.g., physical or emotional suffering as a result of the desired, but unfulfilled, reunion with the deceased) and at least five of the following nine symptoms experienced at least daily or to a disabling degree: feeling emotionally numb, stunned, or that life is meaningless; experiencing mistrust; bitterness over the loss; difficulty accepting the loss; identity confusion; avoidance of the reality of the loss; or difficulty moving on with life. Symptoms must be present at sufficiently high levels at least six mo from the death and be associated with functional impairment.ConclusionsThe criteria set for PGD appear able to identify bereaved persons at heightened risk for enduring distress and dysfunction. The results support the psychometric validity of the criteria for PGD that we propose for inclusion in DSM-V and ICD-11. Please see later in the article for Editors' Summary.