The Role of Grief Counseling - Revisited

In an August 2007 article from the journal Professional Psychology, Dale Larson and William Hoyt seek to set the record straight on the benefits of bereavement counseling. A summary of the argument posted recently on the British Psychological Society's Research Digest blog, describes how the reputation of the field was damaged after an unpublished student dissertation, claiming 38% of bereaved clients would have fared better with no treatment, was cited one time by pyschologist Robert Neimeyer in 2000. "Since then, over 14 studies have reported the 38 per cent figure, but each time they have cited Neimeyer's published paper (a summary of past research), not Fortner, thus giving the misleading impression that the result came from a piece of quality, peer-reviewed empirical research."

Larson and Hoyt made the same argument in HFA's 2007 book, Living With Grief: Before and After the Death, in a chapter entitled, "The Bright Side of Grief Counseling: Deconstructing the New Pessimism." In this chapter, Larson and Hoyt address the challenges faced by bereavement professionals to combat this images. An excerpt:

A major implication of the new perspective is that bereavement professionals can enjoy a more realistic and positive view of their helping efforts. For the past 6 years, the possibility of harming clients has troubled counselors who accepted the TIDE [treatment-induced deterioration effects] findings. If 38% of grief-counseling clients and nearly 50% of normally bereaved clients are worse off at the end of treatment than they would have been without treatment, grief counseling is ethically problematic. The perspective offered here should provide relief for these counselors.

Hospice administrators and other nonclinicians who assist the bereaved can also approach their work with greater confidence. Many of these professionals were strongly influenced by the new pessimism. Patti Homan, the Bereavement Professional Section leader for the National Council of Hospice and Palliative Professionals of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, received inquiries from hospice bereavement coordinators in different parts of the country who were concerned because their administrators, as a result of the publicity that attended the CFAH report, were questioning the value of their bereavement programs (personal communication, March 1, 2006).

Correcting these negative views of grief counseling and bereavement services will be difficult; replacing them with the cautious optimism that seems warranted in light of research findings to date will require systematic efforts.

The whole chapter is available for purchase here, as is the complete book.