Who Needs Grief Counseling? A Report from the Scott & White Grief Study

Abstract

Cluster analysis was performed on a diverse group of 69 non-clinical grievers whose loved ones died between 12–40 months prior to the study. Based on psychometric measures of both bereavement distress and growth, three distinct clusters emerged: High Grief (high distress—low growth; n = 16); High Growth (low distress—high growth; n = 32); and Low Impact (low distress—low growth; n = 21). Discriminant function analyses showed that the High Grief cluster differed robustly from the other two groups on several measures of grief adaptation and coping; the differences between the High Growth and Low Impact clusters were less pronounced. High Grief participants sought grief counseling significantly more often whereas the Low Impact grievers preferred medicinal help for symptoms if they sought any professional assistance at all. When High Growth participants sought counseling, they seemed to focus on growth-oriented dimensions rather than mere symptom relief. Of the 11 participants who sought grief counseling for their loss, 10 (91%) found the experience to be helpful. Findings are discussed in the context of meta-analytic studies of the effectiveness of grief counseling.