Short-term Group Therapies for Complicated Grief - 9781433808432

This is a remarkably comprehensive and articulate synthesis of 25 years of research and clinical innovation in the group therapy of patients suffering from complicated grief and loss. Much of the science that has shaped the practice of contemporary group therapy has emerged from the creative work of this outstanding team of clinician-scientists. This text is an accessible crafting of that work for students, therapists, and researchers.---Molyn Leszcz, MD, FRCPC, Psychiatrist-in-Chief, Mount Sinai Hospital, Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Health Complex, and Professor of Psychiatry, and Head, Group Psychotherapy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Piper and his colleagues preview their work with brief group therapy for complicated grief using supportive and exploratory techniques, with an extensive review of research on treatment of grief. They suggest that different techniques have different therapeutic effects when patients are assessed by their quality of object relations. This is a must-read for those working with this population.---Walter Stone, PhD, Professor Emeritus, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH

This outstanding book on therapy for complicated grief is written by a highly esteemed team of experts. Based on a range of sophisticated studies and a wealth of clinical experience, the book provides readers with unique knowlege and unusual clinical wisdom. Professionals, researchers, and lay readers alike will find this book fascinating and helpful in their relationships with people suffering from complicated grief.---Zipora Shechtman, PhD, Professor, Counseling and Human Development, Haifa University, Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel; Associate Editor of Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice

This volume, the culmination of decades of meticulous, rigorous, and systematic study of the effectiveness of group therapy for patients suffering from complicated grief reactions, impressively illustrates how research and practice-domains too often split off from each other-can be sensitively bridged. These clinical researchers are not content merely to demonstrate which models of group therapy work; they also show how and for whom these models works.---Les R. Greene, PhD, Editor, International Journal of Group Psychotherapy

Although a certain amount of grief is expected and normal following the loss of a loved one, many people experience particularly intense or long-lasting grief, or complicated grief. Up to 20% of acutely bereaved individuals and 33% of psychiatric outpatients suffer from complicated grief. Furthermore, as the baby boom generation ages, the number of people experiencing complicated grief will likely increase. One of the most cost-effective, research-supported treatments for complicated grief is short-term group therapy. This approach not only treats more patients with fewer resources but also capitalizes on the unique and powerful therapeutic factors associated with group therapy. Over the past 22 years, Piper and colleagues have developed and tested two models for treating complicated grief with short-term group therapy. Extensive randomized, controlled clinical trials have demonstrated significantly higher effect sizes for the model treatments than other complicated grief treatments, including individual therapy approaches.

This book begins with a meticulous review of research related to complicated grief, including prevalence, risk factors, effects of patient characteristics and group composition on therapeutic outcome, and mechanisms of change in group therapies for complicated grief. The authors share invaluable practical guidance on assessing patients, forming groups, preparing group members for treatment, and running and terminating the group. This book is essential reading for all clinicians and researchers interested in complicated grief, group therapy, and short-term therapy as well as for administrators and managers responsible for the delivery of health care services.