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Guided Mourning for Morbid Grief: A Controlled Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

D. Mawson ,
I. M. Marks ,
L. Ramm  and
R. S. Stern
D. Mawson
Affiliation:
The Maudsley Hospital, London SE5
I. M. Marks
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry, London SE5
L. Ramm
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychiatry and The Maudsley Hospital
R. S. Stern
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital, London SW17
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Summary

During 2 weeks on a waiting list 12 patients with morbid grief did not improve significantly. They were then randomly allocated either to guided mourning treatment, in which they were encouraged to face cues concerning their bereavement or to control treatment in which they were asked to avoid such cues. Each treatment comprised six 1½ hour sessions over 2 weeks. At week 4 guided mourning patients had improved significantly more than had controls on 3 measures, with a supportive trend on 4 measures. Improvement though modest was maintained to 10–28 weeks follow-up. Control patients did not improve significantly or show any trend to do so.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 138 , Issue 3 , March 1981 , pp. 185 - 193
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1981 

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