Comparison of the effectiveness of grief counseling and god-oriented spiritual counseling on death anxiety and perceived spirituality in individuals with COVID-19 grief

During the COVID-19 pandemic, grief and bereavement have been the most prevalent psychological problems experienced. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of grief counseling and God-oriented spiritual counseling on death anxiety and spirituality in people with COVID-19 grief.

The present quasi-experimental study was conducted with a pretest-posttest design, a control group, and follow-up. The population consisted of all inhabitants of‎Shahr-e-Rey who had lost a member of their family due to COVID-19 in 2021. Participants (n = 51) were selected through purposive sampling based on their acceptance to participate in the study and the inclusion criteria, and were randomly assigned to 2 experimental groups (n = 34) and 1 control group (n = 17). Data were collected using Templer’s Death Anxiety Scale‎(DAS) and the Spiritual Perspective Scale (SPS) ‎in the pretest, posttest, and follow-up stages. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS software using repeated measures ANOVA.

The results showed that both methods of intervention were effective in reducing death anxiety and increasing perceived spirituality. However, God-oriented spiritual counseling was more effective in reducing death anxiety and increasing perceived spirituality compared to grief counseling (P < 0.05).

The results strongly support the effectiveness of grief counseling and God-oriented spiritual counseling on death anxiety and perceived spirituality. Policymakers and mental health experts can use both counseling approaches (based on cognitive-behavioral therapy and complex bereavement therapy) in designing individual and community-oriented interventions related to bereavement, provided they pay attention to the needs of the target community.