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Prolonged grievers: A qualitative evaluation of a support group intervention

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 August 2013

Maria Friedrichsen ,
Yvonne Hajradinovic ,
Maria Jakobsson ,
Lars Sundberg ,
Monica Axmacher Jonsson  and
Anna Milberg
Maria Friedrichsen*
Affiliation:
Palliative Education and Research Centre in the County of Östergötland, Sweden Department of Social & Welfare Studies, Campus Norrköping, Linköping University, Sweden
Yvonne Hajradinovic
Affiliation:
Palliative Education and Research Centre in the County of Östergötland, Sweden Unit of Palliative Care, Vrinnevi Hospital, Norrköping, Sweden
Maria Jakobsson
Affiliation:
Palliative Education and Research Centre in the County of Östergötland, Sweden Unit of Palliative Care, Vrinnevi Hospital, Norrköping, Sweden
Lars Sundberg
Affiliation:
Unit of Palliative Care, Vrinnevi Hospital, Norrköping, Sweden
Monica Axmacher Jonsson
Affiliation:
Unit of Palliative Care, Vrinnevi Hospital, Norrköping, Sweden
Anna Milberg
Affiliation:
Palliative Education and Research Centre in the County of Östergötland, Sweden Department of Social & Welfare Studies, Campus Norrköping, Linköping University, Sweden Unit of Palliative Care, University Hospital, Linköping, Sweden
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Maria Friedrichsen, Palliative Education and Research Centre in the County of Östergötland, Sweden and Department of Social & Welfare Studies, Linköping University, Sweden. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Objective:

The aim of this project was to study prolonged grievers psychosocial processes and experience during participation in a group intervention and 6–8 weeks after discontinuation. The intervention in this study was a group therapy with the aim of getting in contact with their pain and loss and confronting and working with this loss.

Methods:

Data was collected by using diaries and tape-recorded interviews, analyzed with grounded theory. The participants were 11 females between the ages of 33 and 71.

Results:

The main process that was found in the qualitative data was: Ambivalence when struggling and learning through work and rest towards a balance. Sub-processes were: To share and be confirmed in the group through sense of cohesion; To dare/venture to discover problems and solutions; To react when you get emotionally involved, and to compare and discover.

Significance of results:

This study gives insight into prolonged grievers' thinking, which is valuable knowledge. Rather than assuming that all individuals suffering from prolonged grief need the same treatment, we suggest that there should be a range of different therapies.

Keywords

Prolonged grievingComplicated grievingFemalesGrounded theory
Type
Original Articles
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 12 , Issue 4 , August 2014 , pp. 299 - 308
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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