The effectiveness of trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) on bereavement symptoms in bereaved children

Abstract

Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (TF-CBT) on reducing bereavement symptoms in bereaved children. Methods: The research method was semi-experimental with a pre-test and post-test design with a control group. The statistical population was all children aged 9 to 11 years old in Sari city who lost one of their parents due to covid-19 disease. In order to select a statistical sample, 30 people who met the criteria of the study and were willing to receive treatment were selected and assigned to an experimental group and a control group (each group contains 15 people) by a simple random method. The experimental group received Cohen, Mannarino and Knudsen's (2004) trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy in a group method during 16 90-minute sessions, and the control group did not receive any intervention until the follow-up test. The instrument used in this study included the Children's Bereavement Scale (IPG-C) (Spwich et al., 2011). The data obtained in the three stages of pre-test, post-test and follow-up were analyzed using SPSS-22 software by variance analysis with repeated measurements. Results: The results showed that cognitive-behavioral therapy focused on trauma led to the reduction of grief symptoms (F=4.69; P<0.05) of bereaved children. The results also showed that the effect of the treatment was permanent during follow-up. Conclusion: The research results provide evidence that trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy is a suitable method for reducing the symptoms of bereavement in children and can lead to improving the mental health of bereaved children.