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Bereavement
Terms modified by Bereavement Selected AbstractsA Support Group Intervention for Children Bereaved by Parental SuicideJOURNAL OF CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRIC NURSING, Issue 1 2007Ann M. Mitchell PhD TOPIC:,Bereavement is considered by many to be among the most stressful of life events, and it becomes particularly distressing when it concerns the suicide death of a parent. Such an event is especially traumatic for children. PURPOSE AND SOURCES:,The purpose of this paper is to present a case for support group interventions designed specifically for child survivors of parental suicide. The authors provide a theoretical framework for supportive group interventions with these children and describe the structure of an 8-week bereavement support group for this special population of suicide survivors. CONCLUSIONS:,A case is made for designing and implementing group interventions to meet the mental health needs of this important group of individuals. [source] Early Personality Traits as Predictors of Mortality Risk Following Conjugal BereavementJOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 3 2009Keiko A. Taga ABSTRACT This study explored pre-bereavement personality traits and gender as predictors of post-widowhood mortality risk, using newly derived life span data for participants originally recruited for Lewis Terman's classic study of the gifted. Personality traits measured in 1940 were used to predict mortality risk from 1940 through 2004 for married participants who were either widowed between 1940 and 1986 or who remained married. Results indicated that widowhood predicted a decrease in mortality risk for these (intelligent) individuals (relative hazard [rh]=0.68, N=843, p<.001) and neuroticism significantly moderated this effect. Specifically, neuroticism in young adulthood was significantly associated with decreased mortality risk among men who were later widowed (rh=0.50, N=66, p<.02) but not among women or consistently married men. Conclusions reveal the importance of personality,situation interactions and the adoption of a long-term perspective. [source] Doing and Being Well (for the Most Part): Adaptive Patterns of Narrative Self-Evaluation During BereavementJOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 3 2001Jack J. Bauer Narrative self-evaluation patterns were studied in relation to longitudinal measures of adaptation to the death of a spouse in midlife. Narrative self evaluations, identified in open-ended interview transcripts at 6 months post-loss, were coded as either positive or negative and as either doing-based (evaluations of "what one does") or being-based (evaluations of "what one is"). These narrative variables were then compared with separate, clinical-interview measures of grief at 6, 14, and 25 months post-loss. Results confirmed three predictions. First, participants who made an optimal proportion of positive to negative self-evaluations (approximately a 5:1 positive-to-negative ratio) had lower grief levels over time than did those who made either higher or lower proportions. Second, the tendency to focus on evaluations of what one does rather than what one is predicted lower grief levels over time. Third, participants who directly integrated doing-based and being-based self-evaluations had lower grief levels over time than those who did not link the two. Implications for the narrative construction of personal meaning and identity in relation to adaptation are discussed. [source] Bereavement in paediatric intensive carePEDIATRIC ANESTHESIA, Issue 8 2003Charles G. Stack MBBS Summary The death of a child is a very sad event in anyone's life. It also affects all staff in paediatric intensive care units in different ways at different times. The publication of standards of bereavement care in paediatric intensive care hopes to be able to assist medical and nursing staff to understand and feel more confident in this emotionally difficult area of medicine. The aim of this article is to summarize some of the major points made in the document. [source] Do Suicide Survivors Suffer Social Stigma: A Review of the LiteraturePERSPECTIVES IN PSYCHIATRIC CARE, Issue 1 2005Jacqueline G. Cvinar One of the delineating elements found in suicide bereavement versus normal bereavement is the stigma experienced by survivors. This review of the literature will provide insight into stigma as an underlying element in suicide bereavement and point to the role of health professionals in dealing with this complex issue. Historical review and empirical studies are analyzed to provide a framework for how suicide relates to natural bereavement. The conclusion is that suicide bereavement is different from natural loss. The challenge to health care providers is to sort through the complex issues surrounding the individual and their social network to find mechanisms that lead to resolution. Suicide has a profound effect on the family, friends, and associates of the victim that transcends the immediate loss. As those close to the victim suffer through bereavement, a variety of reactions and coping mechanisms are engaged as each individual sorts through individual reactions to the difficult loss. Bereavement refers to "all the physiological, psychological, behavioral, and social response patterns displayed by an individual following the loss (usually through death) of a significant person or thing" (Dunne, Dunne-Maxim & McIntosh, 1987). Bereavement following suicide is complicated by the complex psychological impact of the act on those close to the victim. It is further complicated by the societal perception that the act of suicide is a failure by the victim and the family to deal with some emotional issue and ultimately society affixes blame for the loss on the survivors. This individual or societal stigma introduces a unique stress on the bereavement process that in some cases requires clinical intervention. [source] Bereavement in Late Life: Coping, Adaptation, and Developmental Influences.PSYCHO-ONCOLOGY, Issue 5 2008Margaret S. Stroebe., Written by Robert O. Hansson No abstract is available for this article. [source] Annotation: Childhood Bereavement Following Parental DeathTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 7 2000Linda Dowdney Psychological outcomes in children who have experienced the death of a parent are heterogeneous. One child in five is likely to develop psychiatric disorder. In the year following bereavement, children commonly display grief, distress, and dysphoria. Nonspecific emotional and behavioural difficulties among children are often reported by surviving parents and the bereaved children themselves. The highest rates of reported difficulties are found in boys. This review identifies the moderating and mediating variables that lead to some children being more vulnerable to disturbance than others following parental death. Limitations and gaps in the recent bereavement literature are identified. Theoretical and methodological advances that are necessary for a coherent account of childhood bereavement are outlined. [source] Impact of a Bereavement and Donation Service incorporating mandatory ,required referral' on organ donation rates: a model for the implementation of the Organ Donation Taskforce's recommendationsANAESTHESIA, Issue 8 2009F. Murphy Summary In 2008 the Organ Donation Taskforce published its recommendations for increasing organ donation in the UK by 50% over 5 years. Bolton NHS Trust has addressed the problem of low rates of organ donation by amalgamating Bereavement and Donation Services and introducing a trigger to refer automatically all potential organ donors to the regional transplant donor co-ordinators. We audited the ability of the new service to deliver the aims and recommendations of the Organ Donation Taskforce. Following the changes in service provision the number of tissue donors rose from six in 2002 to 246 in 2007. In the same period solid organ donation rates remained unchanged. The introduction of an automatic trigger for referral of potential donors in 2007 resulted in 31 referrals and 11 successful multi-organ donors. The current service exceeds the aims of the Taskforce and offers the potential to meet UK organ donation targets without resorting to an ,opt out' system of presumed consent. [source] The long-term impact of bereavement upon spouse health: a 10-year follow-upACTA NEUROPSYCHIATRICA, Issue 5 2010Michael P. Jones Jones MP, Bartrop RW, Forcier L, Penny R. The long-term impact of bereavement upon spouse health: a 10-year follow-up. Objectives: This study is the first to examine the effect of bereavement of a first-degree family member on subsequent morbidity over a 10-year follow-up period. Methods: A sample of bereaved subjects (n = 72) were compared with a control group (n = 80) recruited in the same period with respect to morbidity experience during follow-up. Morbidity events were ascertained from the subject themselves, their health care providers and these sources were also compared. Results: Bereavement was associated with an elevated total burden of illness as well as with mental health and circulatory system categories diagnosed according to the International Classification of Diseases - Clinically Modified (ICD-9) classification system. The elevation ranged from approximately 20% for any illness to 60,100% among circulatory system disorders. Although in an earlier study there was a downregulation of T-cell function in the bereaved during the first 8 weeks, there was no evidence that the bereavement was associated with increased morbidity in the respiratory or immune system ICD-9 categories long-term. Conclusions: Past epidemiological research has indicated that bereavement of a close family member is associated with adverse health consequences of a generalised morbidity. Our study suggests an increase in mental health and circulatory system effects in particular. Further research is required to determine whether other systems are also affected by bereavement. [source] Care for the Adult Family Members of Victims of Unexpected Cardiac DeathACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 12 2006Robert Zalenski MD Abstract More than 300,000 sudden coronary deaths occur annually in the United States, despite declining cardiovascular death rates. In 2000, deaths from heart disease left an estimated 190,156 new widows and 68,493 new widowers. A major unanswered question for emergency providers is whether the immediate care of the loved ones left behind by the deceased should be a therapeutic task for the staff of the emergency department in the aftermath of a fatal cardiac arrest. Based on a review of the literature, the authors suggest that more research is needed to answer this question, to assess the current immediate needs and care of survivors, and to find ways to improve care of the surviving family of unexpected cardiac death victims. This would include improving quality of death disclosure, improving care for relatives during cardiopulmonary resuscitation of their family member, and improved methods of referral for services for prevention of psychological and cardiovascular morbidity during bereavement. [source] Waorani Grief and the Witch-Killer's Rage: Worldview, Emotion, and Anthropological ExplanationETHOS, Issue 2 2005CLAYTON ROBARCHEK This article analyzes a complex of grief, rage and homicide among the Ecuadorian Waorani, tracing the relationships among worldview, values and concepts of self, and envy, rage and homicide, especially witch-killing. We contrast the results with the position taken by Rosaldo in his widely cited paper "Grief and the Headhunters Rage" (1989). We hold that Waorani individuals' experience of rage during bereavement is not, as argued by Rosaldo for the Ilongot, a thing sui generis, immune to further explanation. Rather, it is explained as a product of people defining their experience on the basis of cultural constructions of self and reality and acting in accord with those definitions. We also argue that this explanation, coupled with the similarities in the Waorani and Ilongot complexes, suggests the operation of similar sociocultural and psychological processes in the two societies and supports, contra the assertions of postmodernists and others, the continued value and validity of cross-cultural comparative research. [source] Death of a migrant: transnational death rituals and gender among British SylhetisGLOBAL NETWORKS, Issue 3 2002Katy Gardner In this article I discuss transnational burial rituals carried out in London and Sylhet. While collective identity and reaffirming social ties are important issues in discussing the burial of migrants in Sylhet, the main focus of the article is on gender. The analysis of what happens when Londonis die reveals a great deal about the differential effects of living between two places on men and women. While transnationalism may in some contexts be understood as potentially subversive, for the majority of Sylhetis in Britain movement between places is highly constrained by poverty and British immigration controls, as well as by particular gender and household relations. These in turn impact on men and women's experiences of bereavement, as well as on their access to and relationship with the British state. [source] Silenced voices: hearing the stories of parents bereaved through the suicide death of a young adult childHEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY, Issue 3 2010Myfanwy Maple PhD Abstract The current paper reports findings from a qualitative research project that aimed to explore parents' experiences following the suicide death of their young adult child. Twenty-two Australian parents told of the suicide death of their son or daughter during the data collection period (2003 to late 2004). One narrative theme drawn from the interview data is reported here: the way in which suicide-bereaved parents feel unable to talk about their child's life and death, their experience of suicide and their resultant bereavement. Parents reported being silenced by others and silencing themselves in relation to talking about their bereavement. Parents' private stories are used to explain the difficulties they faced given the contemporary social and cultural context of grief and suicide. Then follows an examination of the impact these difficulties had on their ongoing grief narrative and availability of social support. Implications for health and social care intervention are presented to assist in better preparing support workers in their interactions with parents bereaved in this manner. [source] Does psychological counseling alter the natural history of inflammatory bowel disease?INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASES, Issue 4 2010Mahmood Wahed MBBS Abstract Background: There is increasing evidence that psychological stress can increase mucosal inflammation and worsen the course of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We have now assessed whether psychotherapy by a counselor specially trained in the management of IBD can influence the course of disease. Methods: Using retrospective case note review, we compared the course of IBD in 24 patients (13 ulcerative colitis; 11 Crohn's disease), during the year before (year 1) and the year after referral (year 2) for supportive outpatient psychotherapy to an IBD counselor, to that of 24 IBD controls who were matched to individual cases for age, sex, disease, duration of disease, medication at baseline, and for relapse rate in year 1. Counselor assessments were made using a visual analog scale 0,6 (0 denotes poor, 6 excellent response to counseling). The results are shown as median (range). Results: Patients were referred for counseling because of disease-related stress (14 patients), work problems (3), concerns about surgery (5), and bereavement (2); they received 6 (1,13) 1-hour sessions in year 2. In the year after starting counseling (year 2), patients had fewer relapses (0 [0,2]) and outpatient attendances (3.5 [1,10]) than in the year before referral (year 1) (2 [0,5], P = 0.0008; and 6.5 [1,17], P = 0.0006, respectively; furthermore, steroid usage (1 course [0,4] before, 0 [0,2] after, P = 0.005) and relapse-related use of other IBD medications declined during psychotherapy (1 drug [0,5] before, 0 [0,2] after, P = 0.002). There were no differences in any of these measures between years 1 and 2 in the control group. Numbers of hospital admissions did not change between year 1 and 2 in either group. In the 20 patients who attended >1 session counseling helped solve stress-related difficulties (counselor's score 4 [3,5]), the counselor scored them 4 (3,6) overall in psychological well-being after the counseling sessions. Conclusions: IBD-focused counseling may improve not only psychological well-being, but also the course of IBD in individuals with psychosocial stress. (Inflamm Bowel Dis 2009;) [source] Chronic sorrow in parents of children with type 1 diabetesJOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 5 2009Susan Bowes Abstract Title.,Chronic sorrow in parents of children with type 1 diabetes. Aim., This paper reports on a study exploring parents' longer-term experiences of having a child with type 1 diabetes. Background., Parents of children with type 1 diabetes may experience a grief reaction at diagnosis similar to that normally associated with bereavement, but little is known about their long-term emotional adaptation. Chronic sorrow, a sustained but intermittent grief reaction, is identified in adults with diabetes but has not previously been explored in relation to parents. Methodology., In-depth interviews were conducted in 2007 with a convenience sample of 17 parents of children with type 1 diabetes 7,10 years after diagnosis. Data were explored within a theoretical framework of grief, loss, adaptation, and change. Findings., Parents had adapted to the needs of diabetes management but most had not ,come to terms' with the diagnosis. They experienced a resurgence of grief at critical times during their child's development and some, particularly mothers, became upset during their interviews, even though these took place 7,10 years after their child's diagnosis. Mothers elaborated more on their emotions than fathers, but continuing feelings associated with grief, such as anger and guilt, were expressed by both fathers and mothers. Conclusion., Greater understanding of parents' long-term emotional responses and recognition that grief may never resolve in these parents may enable healthcare professionals to provide appropriate and timely support at critical times. [source] Cries From the MorgueJOURNAL OF CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHIATRIC NURSING, Issue 4 2003DF-IAFN, Paul T. Clements PhD TOPIC Family member homicide. PURPOSE To explore the unique facets of bereavement for a family member of a homicide victim in order to assist clinicians during assessment, evaluation, and intervention with children. SOURCES The authors' experience in working with children at a child grief center and published literature. CONCLUSIONS Children experience grief uniquely and use differing methods of coping and adaptation. Knowledge of these differences can assist clinicians with promotion of adaptive coping and grieving in children who have been exposed to murder. [source] Predictors of grief following the death of one's child: the contribution of finding meaning,JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 10 2008Nancy J. Keesee Abstract This study examined the relative contribution of objective risk factors and meaning-making to grief severity among 157 parents who had lost a child to death. Participants completed the Core Bereavement Items (CBI; Burnett, Middleton, Raphael, & Martinek, 1997), Inventory of Complicated Grief (ICG; Prigerson et al., 1995), questions assessing the process and degree of sense-making and benefit-finding, and the circumstances surrounding their losses. Results showed that the violence of the death, age of the child at death, and length of bereavement accounted for significant differences in normative grief symptoms (assessed by the CBI). Other results indicated that the cause of death was the only objective risk factor that significantly predicted the intensity of complicated grief (assessed by the ICG). Of the factors examined in this study, sense-making emerged as the most salient predictor of grief severity, with parents who reported having made little to no sense of their child's death being more likely to report greater intensity of grief. Implications for clinical work are discussed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 64:1,19, 2008. [source] Brief psychodynamic treatment of PTSDJOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 8 2002Janice L. Krupnick This article describes a brief psychodynamic psychotherapy for adults suffering from PTSD following exposure to a single traumatic event, such as tragic bereavement, assault, or loss of a body part through surgery. It uses a supportive therapeutic relationship to uncover what the specific event and circumstances that follow mean to the individual and the obstacles to normal psychological processing of these events. Using this 12-session treatment model, therapists pay particular attention to the individual's current phase of response and the typical ways that the individual avoids threatening information. Making links among the recent trauma, earlier developmental experiences that may have rendered the individual vulnerable to the development of PTSD, and ways that conflicts are reenacted in the therapeutic dyad, dynamic therapists seek to help traumatized individuals re-establish a sense of coherence and meaning in their lives. A case illustration is provided to demonstrate the phases and techniques in this approach. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol/In Session 58: 919,932, 2002 [source] Life events as a risk factor for psychological problems in individuals with intellectual disabilities: a critical reviewJOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY RESEARCH, Issue 11 2008L. Hulbert-Williams Abstract Background Stressful life events such as bereavement, moving house and changing jobs have repeatedly been implicated as risk factors for mental and physical ill health. Since the 1940s, researchers have demonstrated the negative effects of stressful life events, refined methods of recording such events and investigated the relative impact of different types of event. These investigations have generally not extended to include people with intellectual disabilities. Methods We conducted a narrative review of research on life events as they occur to people with intellectual disabilities and critically assessed the evidence that life events function as a risk factor for psychological problems. Evidence was reviewed for an association between life events and a range of outcome variables, including affective disorders, challenging behaviour, psychosis and psychological problems more generally. We also critiqued the methodology behind the current evidence base and discussed a number of methodological advances that would help to strengthen it. Conclusions There is reasonable evidence that life events are associated with psychological problems, and that there is some tentative evidence that life events play a causal role, although to date, no relationship with psychosis in people with intellectual disabilities has been demonstrated. Life events are likely to be pertinent in clinical work with people with intellectual disabilities. [source] Perceptions of Death and Management of Grief in People with Intellectual DisabilityJOURNAL OF POLICY AND PRACTICE IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, Issue 2 2006Rianne Meeusen-van de Kerkhof Abstract, The authors examine the way in which people with intellectual disability (ID) handle death and mourning, and note that the way in which death and bereavement are being experienced depends , among other things , upon the intellectual and socio-emotional age of the individual. The authors used the theories formulated by Piaget (cognitive development), Do,en (socio-emotional development), Timmers-Huigens (strategies of ordering experience), and Fowler (stages of faith) to frame an explanation of how people with ID perceive and experience death. This ranges from hardly any understanding (among persons with profound ID) to a clear realization (among persons with mild ID) of death. Within this framework, the authors offer suggestions and tools for counselors that can be used to help people with ID to manage grief, contingent on their degree of emotional-cognitive-social development (e.g., offering closeness and physical contact, using specific rituals, making use of stories and photographs, and allowing participation in farewell rituals). [source] The effect of traumatic bereavement on tsunami-exposed survivors,JOURNAL OF TRAUMATIC STRESS, Issue 6 2009Kerstin Bergh Johannesson Fourteen months after the 2004 tsunami, mental health outcome was assessed in 187 bereaved relatives, 308 bereaved friends, and in 3,020 nonbereaved Swedish survivors. Of the bereaved relatives, 41% reported posttraumatic stress reactions and 62% reported impaired general mental health. Having been caught or chased by the tsunami in combination with bereavement was associated with increased posttraumatic stress reactions. Complicated grief reactions among relatives were almost as frequent as posttraumatic stress reactions. The highest levels of psychological distress were found among those who had lost children. Traumatic bereavement, in combination with exposure to life danger, is probably a risk factor for mental health sequelae after a natural disaster. [source] The prevalence of PTSD following the violent death of a child and predictors of change 5 years laterJOURNAL OF TRAUMATIC STRESS, Issue 1 2003Shirley A. Murphy Abstract In this study, we examined the violent death bereavement trajectories of 173 parents by following them prospectively for 5 years after their children's deaths by accident, suicide, homicide, or undetermined causes. Using latent growth curve methodology, we examined how the initial level of PTSD and the rate of change over time were influenced by 9 predictors: the deceased children's causes of death, parents' gender, self-esteem, 3 coping strategies, perceived social support, concurrent levels of mental distress, and an intervention offered in early bereavement. Six of the nine factors predicted initial levels of PTSD: however, only parents' gender and perceived social support predicted change in PTSD over the 5-year time. Five years postdeath, 3 times as many study mothers (27.7%) met diagnostic criteria for PTSD and twice as many study fathers (12.5%) met diagnostic criteria for PTSD compared with the normative samples. [source] Refugee families' experience of research participationJOURNAL OF TRAUMATIC STRESS, Issue 3 2000Kari Dyregrov Abstract Because refugees can experience crisis, bereavement, and traumatization, there has been a rapid increase of research carried out with refugees. This study investigated how refugee families respond to participation in research. A previous study explored how adults and children had communicated about the difficult question of repatriation after arriving in a new country. Did the in-depth interviews harm or benefit them? Are there any ethical risks in research on traumatized refugees? From an original sample of 74 Bosnian refugees (5,73 years), 30 family members from 9 families including 14 children aged 6 to 19, were re-interiewed. The refugees rated participation as positive. A few parents lacked information that could have enabled them to inform the children better before the interviews. The study shows that studies on traumatized/bereaved populations can have beneficial effects. [source] Developmental and contextual perspectives on bereaved college studentsNEW DIRECTIONS FOR STUDENT SERVICES, Issue 121 2008Deborah J. Taub Theories of college student development and campus ecology provide helpful perspectives on how students cope with bereavement. [source] Lessons of loss: Meaning-making in bereaved college studentsNEW DIRECTIONS FOR STUDENT SERVICES, Issue 121 2008Robert A. Neimeyer The authors discuss lessons from a multifaceted research program focused on how individuals find meaning in the wake of loss experiences. These lessons offer guidance to help bereaved students make sense of bereavement and move beyond grief to growth. [source] Do Suicide Survivors Suffer Social Stigma: A Review of the LiteraturePERSPECTIVES IN PSYCHIATRIC CARE, Issue 1 2005Jacqueline G. Cvinar One of the delineating elements found in suicide bereavement versus normal bereavement is the stigma experienced by survivors. This review of the literature will provide insight into stigma as an underlying element in suicide bereavement and point to the role of health professionals in dealing with this complex issue. Historical review and empirical studies are analyzed to provide a framework for how suicide relates to natural bereavement. The conclusion is that suicide bereavement is different from natural loss. The challenge to health care providers is to sort through the complex issues surrounding the individual and their social network to find mechanisms that lead to resolution. Suicide has a profound effect on the family, friends, and associates of the victim that transcends the immediate loss. As those close to the victim suffer through bereavement, a variety of reactions and coping mechanisms are engaged as each individual sorts through individual reactions to the difficult loss. Bereavement refers to "all the physiological, psychological, behavioral, and social response patterns displayed by an individual following the loss (usually through death) of a significant person or thing" (Dunne, Dunne-Maxim & McIntosh, 1987). Bereavement following suicide is complicated by the complex psychological impact of the act on those close to the victim. It is further complicated by the societal perception that the act of suicide is a failure by the victim and the family to deal with some emotional issue and ultimately society affixes blame for the loss on the survivors. This individual or societal stigma introduces a unique stress on the bereavement process that in some cases requires clinical intervention. [source] Support for Bereaved Owners of PetsPERSPECTIVES IN PSYCHIATRIC CARE, Issue 2 2003Paul T. Clements PhD TOPIC. The bond that exists between people and their pets and its impact on physical and mental health. PURPOSE. To review the current literature and explore the clinical implications of bereavement related to pets. SOURCES. A comprehensive review of the bereavement, veterinarian, and agricultural literature related to attitudes and response patterns to pet and animal death. CONCLUSIONS. The death or loss of a beloved pet can be a life-changing event. [source] Aftermath of a Patient's Suicide: A Case StudyPERSPECTIVES IN PSYCHIATRIC CARE, Issue 1 2003Sharon M. Valente PhD TOPIC. Nurse psychotherapists often feel poorly prepared to cope with a patient's death by suicide. The psychotherapist may identify with the family, feel sad at the death, and be plagued by feelings of guilt and responsibility. PURPOSE. A case study illustrates the meaning of the loss to the therapist and the influence on professional identity, self-confidence, and self-esteem. SOURCES. Case study and review of the literature from Medline, psychinfo, and CINAHL. CONCLUSIONS. Therapists experience their own grief as a lack of omnipotence over suicide, and the fear of their colleagues' responses. Understanding bereavement and factors influencing bereavement may help therapists facilitate and reduce negative consequences of their own grief. [source] Nurses' Grief Reactions to a Patient's SuicidePERSPECTIVES IN PSYCHIATRIC CARE, Issue 1 2002FAAN, Sharon M. Valente PhD TOPIC. A patient's suicide may threaten the nurse's health and work performance until grief and mourning are transformed. PURPOSE. To examine the literature, bereavement theories, and recommendations for supporting nurses' bereavement. SOURCES. Bereavement literature on Medline, CINAHL, and PsychInfo from 1965,2001, and clinicians' and nurses'responses to a patient's death by suicide. CONCLUSIONS. Nurses need a support system to help them cope with grief after a patient's suicide. Having knowledge of bereavement and using therapeutic support can help prevent burnout or stress and can encourage constructive coping strategies that transform grief. Grieving is facilitated when nurses recognize their own mortality and take time to process their grief. [source] Psychological distress amongst AIDS-orphaned children in urban South AfricaTHE JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY AND ALLIED DISCIPLINES, Issue 8 2007Lucie Cluver Background:, South Africa is predicted to have 2.3 million children orphaned by Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) by 2020 (Actuarial Society of South Africa, 2005). There is little knowledge about impacts of AIDS-related bereavement on children, to aid planning of services. This study aimed to investigate psychological consequences of AIDS orphanhood in urban township areas of Cape Town, South Africa, compared to control groups of children and adolescents orphaned by other causes, and non-orphans. Method:, One thousand and twenty-five children and adolescents (aged 10,19) were interviewed using socio-demographic questionnaires and standardised scales for assessing depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, peer problems, delinquency and conduct problems. Results:, Controlling for socio-demographic factors such as age, gender, formal/informal dwelling and age at orphanhood, children orphaned by AIDS were more likely to report symptoms of depression, peer relationship problems, post-traumatic stress, delinquency and conduct problems than both children orphaned by other causes and non-orphaned children. Anxiety showed no differences. AIDS-orphaned children were more likely to report suicidal ideation. Compared to Western norms, AIDS-orphaned children showed higher levels of internalising problems and delinquency, but lower levels of conduct problems. Conclusions:, Children orphaned by AIDS may be a particularly vulnerable group in terms of emotional and, to a lesser extent, behavioural problems. Intervention programs are necessary to ameliorate the psychological sequelae of losing a parent to AIDS. [source] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||