Traumatic Grief Treatment: Case Histories of 4 Patients.

Background: Traumatic grief treatment is a newly developed intervention for a debilitating bereavement-related condition. Traumatic grief treatment uses imaginal and in vivo exposure techniques to target emotional distress and behavioral avoidance hypothesized to be core features of the syndrome, along with interpersonal psychotherapy techniques to engage patients and maintain rapport. The present report describes 4 case histories of patients treated in this way.

Method: Each patient met our criterion for traumatic grief, defined as a score of at least 25 on the Inventory of Complicated Grief. Additionally, all 4 patients met DSM-IV criteria for a current episode of major depression and 1 patient for bipolar II disorder. The treatment course followed a direct replication design and ranged from 14 to 18 weekly 60- to 90-minute sessions.

Results: These 4 cases illustrate reduction in distress during exposure to painful emotional memories and avoided situations that was associated with decreased scores on measures of traumatic grief, depression, and anxiety and increased participation in and enjoyment of daily-life activities.

Conclusion: Case histories of traumatic grief treatment suggest it is a promising treatment for individuals suffering from traumatic grief. It appears that imaginal reliving and in vivo exposure are effective in reducing grief intensity and lead to reduction in symptoms.