A 1-year follow-up of the My Grief app for prolonged grief

Mobile health applications (apps) are increasingly used to reduce mental health problems. However, few effective apps are available for bereaved adults. Recently, a randomized controlled trial demonstrated the short-term beneficial effects of access to the My Grief app in mitigating symptoms of prolonged grief and posttraumatic stress in bereaved parents. The present study examined the long-term outcomes of app access and their predictors in a longitudinal survey of participants who had access to the My Grief app.

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A short-term intervention program for traumatic grief guided by the Two-Track Model of Bereavement (TTMB) : Applying a multi-module transtheoretical framework

The purpose of the present article is to describe and demonstrate the principles of multi-module and short-term intervention for traumatic bereavement. This intervention program is based on the Two-Track Model of Loss and Bereavement (TTMB), a model that provides a multidimensional framework for assessing and formulating interventions following interpersonal loss. Following a brief introduction to the topic of traumatic loss and bereavement and its relevance, we proceed to consider the TTMB succinctly.

 

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Prolonged grief and posttraumatic stress in parents who lost a child in a road traffic accident : A latent class analysis.

Background: The traumatic loss of a child in a road traffic accident (RTA) can lead to mental health issues in parents, such as symptoms of prolonged grief (PG) and posttraumatic stress (PTS). Latent class analysis (LCA) provides insights into different responses to such losses.

 

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What Factors are Associated with Posttraumatic Growth in Older Adults? : A Systematic Review

Objectives

Posttraumatic growth (PTG) is of increased theoretical and clinical interest. However, less is known about PTG in older adults specifically. This systematic review aimed to identify domains where PTG is studied for older adults; investigate factors associated with PTG in older adults; consider how these might differ between historical and later life traumas.

 

Methods

Online databases were searched for quantitative studies examining PTG outcomes in adults aged ≥ 60 years.

 

Results

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Prolonged grief symptoms and lingering attachment predict approach behavior toward the deceased

Following the death of a loved one, both approach behaviors related to the deceased (i.e., engagement with feelings, memories, and/or reminders of the deceased) and the avoidance of reminders of the death are theorized to precipitate severe and persistent grief reactions, termed prolonged grief. The “approach-avoidance processing hypothesis” holds that these behavioral tendencies occur simultaneously in prolonged grief disorder (PGD). We tested this hypothesis using a novel free-viewing attention task.

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Social support and (complex) posttraumatic stress symptom severity : does gender matter?

Background: Perceived social support is an established predictor of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after exposure to a traumatic event. Gender is an important factor that could differentiate responses to social support, yet this has been little explored. Symptoms of complex PTSD are also common following trauma but have been under-researched in this context. Large scale studies with culturally diverse samples are particularly lacking.

 

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Trauma concepts in research and practice : An Overview

Trauma is a key concept in many fields of psychology and medicine. Different understandings of trauma are at play here, which are sometimes blurred and usually have little relation to each other. In order to provide orientation in the discussion and to contribute to a reflected use of the concept of trauma in research and practice, this book presents central - clinical, psychosocial, transgenerational and collective - trauma concepts and demonstrates their significance in selected therapeutic, institutional, research and socio-political fields of practice by means of case studies. 

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Expert international trauma clinicians’ views on the definition, composition and delivery of reintegration interventions for complex PTSD

Background: Research has previously distinguished between complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) and PTSD, with the former including a range of disturbances in self-regulatory capacities in addition to difficulties associated with PTSD. Clinical guidelines have previously recommended a phase-based approach for the treatment of CPTSD, yet the final ‘reintegration’ phase of treatment has been overlooked in research, with limited evidence into its value and effectiveness, and inconsistencies in its definitions and understanding.

 

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Appeasement : replacing Stockholm syndrome as a definition of a survival strategy

Background: Stockholm syndrome or traumatic bonding (Painter & Dutton, Patterns of emotional bonding in battered women: Traumatic bonding. International Journal of Women’s Studies, 8(4), 363–375, 1985) has been used in mainstream culture, legal, and some clinical settings to describe a hypothetical phenomenon of trauma survivors developing powerful emotional attachments to their abuser.

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The relationship between childhood abuse and severity of psychosis is mediated by loneliness: an experience sampling study

Background: This study tested the hypotheses that (i) the relationship between a history of childhood abuse and severity of psychosis is mediated by loneliness; (ii) the relationship between loneliness and psychosis is mediated by within-person fluctuations in depressive and anxious feelings. Methods: Fifty-nine individuals with non-affective psychotic disorder rated the intensity of loneliness, positive symptoms, and depressive and anxious feelings during repeated moments in daily life (Experience Sampling Method).

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