Effect of a brief family-based treatment on complicated grief in bereaved older adults

Abstract

Background: The current study compared the effectiveness of family-based complicated grief therapy with individual-based complicated grief therapy on improvement in complicated grief symptoms of bereaved older adults. Methods: Two community senior centers referred 29 older adults who lost their spouses. The study used a single-blinded randomized trial design, comparing family-based complicated grief therapy with individual-based complicated grief therapy on complicated grief symptoms and social impairment. Results: Relative to individual-based complicated grief therapy, participants in the family-based complicated grief therapy group demonstrated improvement in social impairments and complicated grief symptoms. Conclusion: The findings suggest that a family-based delivery model for complicated grief may be superior to an individually provided approach in reducing complicated grief symptoms, and in improving work and social functions in bereavement. (Ann Geriatr Med Res 2018;22:94-97).