A complicated grief intervention model

Abstract

Complicated grief refers to a prolonged state of grief and indicates the inability of the client to incorporate the death into his or her life. Few social workers in South Africa assess the possibility of complicated grief as a contributing factor to impaired social functioning. This can be as a result of limited knowledge, ignorance and/or insufficient skills on the part of the social worker to assess and identify complicated grief. In this article, the researchers tabulate some of the models and approaches to bereavement and discusses its applicability to complicated grief. Specific attention is given to the Dual Process Model (Stroebe & Schut 1999) and the Task-Centred approach (a social work approach to therapy) in an attempt to develop a model for complicated grief intervention. This article furthermore proposes the Complicated Grief Intervention Model through the integration of the Dual Process Model and the Task-Centred approach while drawing on intervention techniques from other therapeutic approaches.