Online grief support groups: facilitators' attitudes

Posttraumatic growth among participating and non-participating organ donor families in grief support groups

This article aimed to assess posttraumatic growth among participating and nonparticipating families of organ donors in grief support groups. The program, in the form of both face-to-face and WhatsApp groups, is unique in that it extends over many years without limitation for a predefined period, is open to both immediate and extended family members, and is conducted according to predetermined topics. A questionnaire was completed by 84 participants and 115 non-participant family members. Most participants had attended for between 1 and 5 years (57.2%), although 33.3% had participated for >5 years, including 16.7% who participated for >10 years. All measures of posttraumatic growth were significantly higher in group participants (3.40 [0.75] vs. 3.15 [0.75], p = .010) than non-participants. The often-prolonged participation in the groups suggests there may be an important need for ongoing contact with and support for these families even many years after the loss.

Considerations for Developing Online Bereavement Support Groups

The loss of a family member or friend can have profound psychological and physical implications, particularly for individuals without bereavement support services. Online support groups can be an effective means of extending services beyond the traditional modes of delivery. This is especially true for populations that include isolated individuals and those with limited support networks, limited transportation, challenging time commitments, or reside in communities with limited services available. The literature over the last 10 years was reviewed to discern the potential opportunities and challenges of providing online bereavement support group services. Discussed are challenges for recruitment of participants, availability of technology resources, addressing privacy and confidentiality issues, participants' knowledge of technical equipment, legal considerations, ethical considerations, accessibility, and other best practices. Diverse populations such as adolescents, older adults, and rural communities must be uniquely considered when using online support groups.

Professional Online Support Group Facilitators: Guarantors of Maximal Group Utility

Synchronous online support groups (OSGs) represent a promising psychosocial resource, as they offer many of the same therapeutic factors as face-to-face groups as well as unique benefits (e.g., anonymity, convenience). Despite their advantages, OSGs also present challenges to participation, including lack of visual cues, disjointed text communication, and rapid pace, which render the presence of a professional facilitator especially important. This study involved an in-depth qualitative analysis of 38 sessions of four time-limited OSGs for informal caregivers (i.e., family) of patients with advanced-stage cancer. Results depict the ways in which four trained facilitators maximized the utility of their respective online groups-namely, by structuring and guiding, actively scanning, and modulating experiencing. These findings expand our limited understanding of the facilitative processes that take place in OSGs and may be clinically informative to professionals with an interest in this relatively novel group modality.

"Please Know That You Are Not Alone with Your Pain": Responses to Newcomer Posts in an Online Grief Support Forum

In an effort to better understand how the Internet can provide support to bereaved individuals, this discourse analysis study examined the responses to 107 initial posts in an online grief support group to understand how newcomers' bids for group membership were taken up by current members. Discursive features included validation and empathy through second stories, constructing grief through descriptions, and accepting bids for membership through advice giving and invitations to return to the group. These features illustrate how grief and being a griever are constructed in an online context and how they deviate from the "normal" grief expectations in the offline world.