Treating prolonged grief disorder: a randomized clinical trial.

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Prolonged grief disorder (PGD) affects about 10% of bereaved individuals and can be disabling.
• Grief-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an established treatment for PGD.
• The role of exposure therapy within CBT for PGD remains debated.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the effectiveness of CBT with exposure therapy (CBT/exposure) versus CBT alone in treating PGD.
• To evaluate the impact of exposure therapy on PGD symptom severity and related outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A randomized clinical trial involving 80 patients diagnosed with PGD.
• Participants received 10 weekly group CBT sessions and 4 individual sessions.
• Individual sessions were randomized to include either exposure therapy for death memories or supportive counseling.

Main Results:

• CBT/exposure demonstrated significantly greater reductions in PGD severity compared to CBT alone.
• Patients receiving CBT/exposure also showed greater improvements in depression, negative appraisals, and functional impairment.
• A lower percentage of treatment completers in the CBT/exposure group met PGD criteria at follow-up.

Conclusions:

• Exposure therapy, by facilitating emotional processing of death memories, is a key component for optimal PGD treatment.
• Enhancing emotional responses to loss through therapy can lead to improved appraisals and symptom reduction.
• Therapeutic approaches for PGD should incorporate emotional processing techniques.