Effectiveness of a Cancer Bereavement Therapeutic Group.

Jerome H., Smith KV., Shaw EJ., Szydlowski S., Barker C., Pistrang N., Thompson EH.

This study examined the effectiveness of a novel cancer bereavement group. Twenty-seven participants attended a sixsession cancer bereavement therapeutic group. Data were collected at baseline, intervention completion, and three-month follow-up. Grief intensity and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety were reduced postintervention, and self-compassion increased. At follow-up, improvement remained for grief, PTSD, and depression. A small quasi-experimental waiting-list comparison group showed no change on any measure between baseline and waiting-list end. This study provides preliminary evidence that a brief therapeutic group is an effective intervention for cancer bereavement.

DOI

10.1080/15325024.2018.1518772

Type

Journal article

Journal

J Loss Trauma

Publication Date

07/01/2019

Volume

23

Pages

574 - 587

Keywords

Cancer, bereavement, grief, oncology, therapeutic group

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