Abstract
COVID-19 has caused nearly 4.3 million deaths all around the world. People who have experienced loss during this special period may find it difficult to adapt to life after loss, and may even suffer from prolonged grief disorder or other mental health problems. However, there is a huge gap of grief research in China, with almost no comprehensive grief intervention training system or very few professional grief consultants. Considering the large number of bereaved individuals who are suffering from grief and other mental health problems, it is significant to develop a suitable and effective intervention protocol immediately. This article illustrates a study protocol initiated by a Chinese university to investigate the mental health of bereaved individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic and train grief counselors to provide grief counseling to the bereaved, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of the grief counseling. The method is as follows: (1) 300 psychological counselors will be recruited to attend the grief counseling training. Assessments will be conducted at three time points: baseline (T0), after the basic training (T1), and after the advanced training (T2); (2) 500 bereaved Chinese will be recruit to join the online survey and will be assessed at two time points with a six-month interval; and (3) a two-armed (grief counseling versus wait-list controls) RCT (random control trials) will be conducted with 160 bereaved individuals. Assessments will be conducted at three time points: before randomization (baseline, T0), at the post-counseling (T1), and three months after the post-counseling (T2). Primary outcomes will be assessed by the Prolonged Grief Questionnaire (PG-13), the 20-item PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI). This research will help develop grief research and grief counseling in China, as well as provide professional mental health services for individuals who may suffer from grief-related disorders in the future.
Highlights
The present grief treatments include: (a) meaning reconstruction [34], emphasizing that reconstruction of lost meaning is an important process of grief adapting; (b) complicated grief treatment (CGT) [5], focusing on the two directions of coping with loss and rebuilding a new life; (c) cognitive-behavioral therapy for complicated grief (CBT-CG) [35], helping individuals to integrate loss experiences into their autobiography through imaginal exposure, cognitive restructuring, and behavioral activation, while reducing negative self-evaluation, dysfunctional beliefs, and their avoidance behavior, and achieving the purpose of helping them better adapt to their life after loss
Western countries have a relatively complete bereavement support and grief counseling system, as well as a professional training system for grief counselors, it remains to be established through empirical studies if it is the case that western protocols are feasible to apply to the situation in China
Increasing attention has been paid to bereavement-related disorders in recent decades
Summary
As of 18 August 2021, COVID-19 has caused more than 4.3 million deaths all around the world [1], creating an unprecedented pandemic. A recent study showed that about nine family members would be affected by each death from COVID-19 [2]. Based on this estimate, there will be a huge number of the newly bereaved after COVID-19. Bereaved individuals who have lost their loved ones during the pandemic are faced with more difficult situations than usual Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 9061 memorial ritual, shortage of medical resources, etc.). It is exceptionally urgent to provide appropriate and professional grief counseling or grief therapy for bereaved individuals during this period
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