The Effectiveness of Guided Mourning for Adults with Complicated Mourning

Abstract

Loss of a loved one is a common experience. For the bereaved to grieve is a natural expression of the loss, and mourning is the process through which one must pass in order to adapt to the reality of the loss. For various reasons, for some the mourning process becomes complicated, and the bereaved gets “stuck” in the process and fails to return to living life unburdened by the loss. Practitioners need to be aware of interventions that are proven to be effective in addressing complicated mourning. Initial search began with experimental and quasi-experimental studies but ended up including four pre-experimental studies. The study included adults who are not known to be intellectually challenged but who have suffered the loss of a loved one as a result of natural (illness) or violent (homicide, suicide, fatal accident) circumstances. A total of seven studies were reviewed. Guided mourning can be effective in helping an adult move through the mourning process. It is, however, imperative that the practitioner understands the mourning process and what has prevented the bereaved from moving forward through the process. Given how common grief and mourning are in the human experience, there is surprisingly little research on what is effective in helping those whose mourning has become complicated. More needs to be done in this area, including clearly defining the specific components of guided mourning and the clients who will be best served by this intervention.

KEYWORDS:

• Guided mourning
• complicated grief
• morbid grief
• behavior therapy