Cross-modality grief therapy: description and assessment of a new program

The therapeutic effectiveness of using visual art modalities with the bereaved: a systematic review

Bereaved individuals are increasingly considered at risk for negative psychological and physiological outcomes. Visual art modalities are often incorporated into grief therapy interventions, and clinical application of art therapy techniques with the bereaved has been widely documented. Although clinicians and recipients of these interventions advocate for their helpfulness in adapting to bereavement, research investigating the efficacy of visual art modalities has produced equivocal results and has not yet been synthesized to establish empirical support across settings. Accordingly, this review critically evaluates the existent literature on the effectiveness of visual art modalities with the bereaved and offers suggestions for future avenues of research. A total of 27 studies were included in the current review. Meta-analysis was not possible because of clinical heterogeneity and insufficient comparable data on outcome measures across studies. A narrative synthesis reports that therapeutic application of visual art modalities was associated with positive changes such as continuing bonds with the deceased and meaning making. Modest and conflicting preliminary evidence was found to support treatment effectiveness in alleviating negative grief symptoms such as general distress, functional impairment, and symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Locus of control and helplessness: gender differences among bereaved parents

This study investigated locus of control (LC) and hopelessness (H) among 25 pairs of bereaved parents, who lost their children in the Arab-Israeli conflict, and 25 pairs of demographically matched non-bereaved parents (mean age 53). Four of the 5 hypotheses were supported by results. LC was significantly more external and H was significantly lower among bereaved parents than among the control group. In both groups, mothers demonstrated significantly more external LC and higher H than did fathers. The bereaved mothers were significantly more externally controlled and hopeless than any other subgroup. No significant correlation was found between LC and H, either in the sample as a whole or in its subgroups, contrary to the hypothesized relation. The different effects of reaction to bereavement on men and women, as emerging from the results, are discussed in the light of gender-role socialization.