PF Riley
August 24th 03, 08:16 PM
GOOD GRIEF
Bereaved Adjust Well Without Airing Emotion
"Mental-health workers have long theorized that it takes grueling
emotional exertion to recover from the death of a loved one. So-called
grief work, now the stock-in-trade of a growing number of grief
counselors, entails confronting the reality of a loved one's demise
and grappling with the harsh emotions triggered by that loss.
Two new studies, however, knock grief work off its theoretical
pedestal. Among bereaved spouses tracked for up to 2 years after their
partners' death, those who often talked with others and briefly wrote
in diaries about their emotions fared no better than their
tight-lipped, unexpressive counterparts, according to psychologist
Margaret Stroebe of Utrecht University in the Netherlands and her
colleagues.
In most cases, 'the bereaved have to cope with their loss in their own
time and their own way,' the researchers conclude in the February 2002
issue of the _Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology_ (Stroebe
M, Stroebe W, Schut H, Zech E, van den Bout J. Does disclosure of
emotions facilitate recovery from bereavement? Evidence from two
prospective studies. _J Consult Clin Psychol_. 2000;70:169-178).
'There was no evidence that talking about the loss with others and
disclosing one's emotions facilitated [psychological] adjustment.'
The new findings are consistent with evidence that psychotherapy
benefits only the small proportion of bereaved individuals who suffer
from severe, unrelenting yearning for a deceased person and seek out
professional help. (_Science News_, January 14, 1995, page 22)...
Other research suggests that grief work may do more harm than good if
it fosters the expression of negative emotions, remarks psychologist
George A. Bonanno of Columbia University."
_Science News_. March 2, 2002;151:131-132
Noted by JFL, MD, PEDIATRICS Vol. 111 No. 5 May 2003, p. 955
Bereaved Adjust Well Without Airing Emotion
"Mental-health workers have long theorized that it takes grueling
emotional exertion to recover from the death of a loved one. So-called
grief work, now the stock-in-trade of a growing number of grief
counselors, entails confronting the reality of a loved one's demise
and grappling with the harsh emotions triggered by that loss.
Two new studies, however, knock grief work off its theoretical
pedestal. Among bereaved spouses tracked for up to 2 years after their
partners' death, those who often talked with others and briefly wrote
in diaries about their emotions fared no better than their
tight-lipped, unexpressive counterparts, according to psychologist
Margaret Stroebe of Utrecht University in the Netherlands and her
colleagues.
In most cases, 'the bereaved have to cope with their loss in their own
time and their own way,' the researchers conclude in the February 2002
issue of the _Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology_ (Stroebe
M, Stroebe W, Schut H, Zech E, van den Bout J. Does disclosure of
emotions facilitate recovery from bereavement? Evidence from two
prospective studies. _J Consult Clin Psychol_. 2000;70:169-178).
'There was no evidence that talking about the loss with others and
disclosing one's emotions facilitated [psychological] adjustment.'
The new findings are consistent with evidence that psychotherapy
benefits only the small proportion of bereaved individuals who suffer
from severe, unrelenting yearning for a deceased person and seek out
professional help. (_Science News_, January 14, 1995, page 22)...
Other research suggests that grief work may do more harm than good if
it fosters the expression of negative emotions, remarks psychologist
George A. Bonanno of Columbia University."
_Science News_. March 2, 2002;151:131-132
Noted by JFL, MD, PEDIATRICS Vol. 111 No. 5 May 2003, p. 955