Randomised controlled trial of a cognitive narrative intervention for complicated grief in widowhood.
OBJECTIVE
The implementation of bereavement interventions is frequently requested, and its effectiveness has been controversial. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a cognitive narrative intervention for complicated grief (CG) for controlling post-traumatic and depressive issues.


METHODS
The study is a randomised controlled trial and uses the Socio Demographic Questionnaire (SDQ), the Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Impact of Events Scale-Revised (IES-R). There were three phases in the study: (1) The SDQ and CG evaluations were applied to bereaved elders (n = 82). The bereaved elders with the 40 highest ICG values (≥25) were randomly allocated into two groups: the intervention group (n = 20) and control group (n = 20); (2) participants were evaluated using the BDI and IES-R and the IG gave informed consent to participate in an intervention with four weekly 60-min sessions addressing recall, emotional and cognitive subjectivation, metaphorisation and projecting. (3) Two months later, the ICG, BDI and IES-R assessments were repeated.


RESULTS
Outcome measures showed a statistically significant reduction of CG, depressive and traumatic symptoms compared to the controls. Very high effect sizes for the ICG, BDI and IES-R reflect the effectiveness of the intervention along the longitudinal profile.


CONCLUSIONS
These results reinforce the importance of brief interventions that combine a reduced number of sessions with lower costs, which is reflected in an increased adherence to the programme along with high effectiveness.
a ISCS-N, CESPU, CICS - UnIPSa , Gandra , Portugal.
Virginia
V
Barbosa
Mónica
M
Sá
José
J
Carlos Rocha
D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011174:Portugal / Q000453:epidemiology; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D017805:Widowhood / Q000523:psychology*