Loss of one's child represents one of the most traumatic events a human may endure. Few effective interventions have been documented. The purpose of this research was to determine the effect of touch therapy on grieving mothers. Bereavement responses of mothers who had lost a child in the previous 6–60 months (n 31, intervention group; n 34, comparison group) were evaluated for significant differences between intervention (touch therapy) and comparison groups, measured by the Grief Experience Inventory (GEI). Analysis of the nine clinical scales of the GEI demonstrated statistically significant differences for the intervention group on the following scales: despair (F 8.290, p .006), depersonalization (F 4.904, p .031), and somatization (F 6.833, p .012). Significance of findings as they relate to treatment of complicated grief is discussed.
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