TY - JOUR
T1 - An open trial of meaning-centered grief therapy
T2 - Rationale and preliminary evaluation
AU - Lichtenthal, Wendy G.
AU - Catarozoli, Corinne
AU - Masterson, Melissa
AU - Slivjak, Elizabeth
AU - Schofield, Elizabeth
AU - Roberts, Kailey E.
AU - Neimeyer, Robert A.
AU - Wiener, Lori
AU - Prigerson, Holly G.
AU - Kissane, David W.
AU - Li, Yuelin
AU - Breitbart, William
PY - 2019/2/1
Y1 - 2019/2/1
N2 - Objective To determine the preliminary feasibility, acceptability, and effects of Meaning-Centered Grief Therapy (MCGT) for parents who lost a child to cancer.Method Parents who lost a child to cancer and who were between six months and six years after loss and reporting elevated levels of prolonged grief were enrolled in open trials of MCGT, a manualized, one-on-one cognitive-behavioral-existential intervention that used psychoeducation, experiential exercises, and structured discussion to explore themes related to meaning, identity, purpose, and legacy. Parents completed 16 weekly sessions, 60-90 minutes in length, either in person or through videoconferencing. Parents were administered measures of prolonged grief disorder symptoms, meaning in life, and other assessments of psychological adjustment preintervention, mid-intervention, postintervention, and at three months postintervention. Descriptive data from both the in-person and videoconferencing open trial were pooled.Result Eight of 11 (72%) enrolled parents started the MCGT intervention, and six of eight (75%) participants completed all 16 sessions. Participants provided positive feedback about MCGT. Results showed postintervention longitudinal improvements in prolonged grief (d = 1.70), sense of meaning (d = 2.11), depression (d = 0.84), hopelessness (d = 1.01), continuing bonds with their child (d = 1.26), posttraumatic growth (ds = 0.29-1.33), positive affect (d = 0.99), and various health-related quality of life domains (d = 0.46-0.71). Most treatment gains were either maintained or increased at the three-month follow-up assessment.Significance of results Overall, preliminary data suggest that this 16-session, manualized cognitive-behavioral-existential intervention is feasible, acceptable, and associated with transdiagnostic improvements in psychological functioning among parents who have lost a child to cancer. Future research should examine MCGT with a larger sample in a randomized controlled trial.
AB - Objective To determine the preliminary feasibility, acceptability, and effects of Meaning-Centered Grief Therapy (MCGT) for parents who lost a child to cancer.Method Parents who lost a child to cancer and who were between six months and six years after loss and reporting elevated levels of prolonged grief were enrolled in open trials of MCGT, a manualized, one-on-one cognitive-behavioral-existential intervention that used psychoeducation, experiential exercises, and structured discussion to explore themes related to meaning, identity, purpose, and legacy. Parents completed 16 weekly sessions, 60-90 minutes in length, either in person or through videoconferencing. Parents were administered measures of prolonged grief disorder symptoms, meaning in life, and other assessments of psychological adjustment preintervention, mid-intervention, postintervention, and at three months postintervention. Descriptive data from both the in-person and videoconferencing open trial were pooled.Result Eight of 11 (72%) enrolled parents started the MCGT intervention, and six of eight (75%) participants completed all 16 sessions. Participants provided positive feedback about MCGT. Results showed postintervention longitudinal improvements in prolonged grief (d = 1.70), sense of meaning (d = 2.11), depression (d = 0.84), hopelessness (d = 1.01), continuing bonds with their child (d = 1.26), posttraumatic growth (ds = 0.29-1.33), positive affect (d = 0.99), and various health-related quality of life domains (d = 0.46-0.71). Most treatment gains were either maintained or increased at the three-month follow-up assessment.Significance of results Overall, preliminary data suggest that this 16-session, manualized cognitive-behavioral-existential intervention is feasible, acceptable, and associated with transdiagnostic improvements in psychological functioning among parents who have lost a child to cancer. Future research should examine MCGT with a larger sample in a randomized controlled trial.
KW - Bereaved parents
KW - Existential
KW - Meaning
KW - Prolonged grief
KW - Psychotherapy
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85060628139&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/S1478951518000925
DO - 10.1017/S1478951518000925
M3 - Article
C2 - 30683164
AN - SCOPUS:85060628139
SN - 1478-9515
VL - 17
SP - 2
EP - 12
JO - Palliative and Supportive Care
JF - Palliative and Supportive Care
IS - 1
ER -
