Treatments for Prolonged Grief Disorder: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis

Previous reviews on Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) treatments were done before it became an official diagnosis, which makes it important to compare the effectiveness of current psychological and pharmacological interventions. In our systematic review and network meta-analysis, multiple databases were searched for randomized controlled trials up to November 2023. The primary outcome was reduction in PGD symptoms, while the secondary outcomes were reduction in symptoms of depression and PTSD. The search strategy resulted in a final sample of 40 eligible studies, which contained data from 4566 participants. This study showed that the most effective treatments for PGD contained an element of exposure, social support, narrative reconstruction, artistic expression, and a cognitive-behavioral aspect. Our study provides a comprehensive synthesis of available evidence on the effectiveness of psychological PGD treatments in adults. However, there was insufficient data for pediatric treatments and pharmacological interventions. This study was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42023477050).