The Effect of Spiritually Multidimensional Psychotherapy on Grief Experience and Grief Intensity in the Bereaved during the COVID-19 Pandemic

 Due to COVID-19 pandemic and high rate of its mortality, grief and bereavement are one of the psychological problems experienced by the people. There is a need to examine the efficacy of grief counseling protocols in providing good services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of the study was to compare the effect of spiritually multidimensional Psychotherapy on grief experience and grief intensity.

 This is a quasi-experimental study with a pre-test post-test design with a control group and follow-up. The population consisted of all people who had lost a member of their family due to COVID-19. Thirty-four individuals were selected through purposive sampling based on their acceptance to participate in the study and having inclusion criteria and were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups (17 in each group). In the three stages of pre-test, post-test and follow-up, data were collected by the Grief Intensity Scale and Grief Experience Questionnaire. In the present study, all ethical considerations were observed and the authors reported no conflict of interests.

Results:

 The results showed that spiritually multidimensional psychotherapy was effective in alleviating grief experience and reducing grief intensity (P<0.05).

 The results of this study strongly support the effectiveness of spiritually multidimensional psychotherapy in alleviating grief experience and reducing grief intensity. Also, the results showed that religious background of individuals should be attended to in theory and practice of psychotherapy.