Therapeutic intervention in the treatment of substance abuser's unresolved grief reactions in an inpatient hospital setting: A study of two group approaches

• Main Author: Forrest, Alan Wayne
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: W&M ScholarWorks 1990
• Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Student Counseling and Personnel Services
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1539618885; https://scholarworks.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2095&context=etd

The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of two group counseling approaches upon adult substance abuser's unresolved grief reactions in an inpatient hospital setting. Forty-one adult patients hospitalized in an inpatient substance abuse treatment program were subjects in the study. All subjects were volunteers and assigned to either a higher level inpatient therapy group (Yalom model), structured didactic group, or control group. Pre and posttesting was accomplished by use of the Texas Revised Inventory of Grief, Beck Depression Inventory, and Adjective Check List. It was hypothesized that by virtue of a grief counseling group there would be a significant improvement in unresolved grief as measured by (1) the Present Feeling scale of the TRIG, (2) a decrease in depression as measured by the BDI and (3) significant improvement in intraception, succorance, and personal adjustment as measured by the ACL.;Treatment interventions were administered to the two experimental groups and withheld from the control group. The two treatment groups met for three sessions each week for 75 minutes per group session. Groups were open-ended and ongoing and subjects participated in their assigned group until each had participated in eight counseling sessions. The control group did not meet.;The research design utilized in this study was the Pretest-Posttest Control Group Experimental Design. The statistical procedure analysis of covariance was employed to determine the efficacy of the two different group treatment approaches. Five null hypotheses provided the basis for testing whether or not there were significant differences (mean =.05) between the three groups on posttest measures of grief resolution, depression, intraception, succorance, and personal adjustment.;Analysis of the test data revealed no significant differences between the two treatment groups and control group with respect to grief resolution and no significant differences in improvement of depression between the two treatment groups and control group. There was significant improvement demonstrated between the two treatment groups and control group relative to intraception, however the increase was not significantly greater for either of the treatment interventions. Also, there was a significant improvement demonstrated in succorance for the higher level inpatient therapy group; the control group demonstrated a trend of increased succorance and the structured didactic group showed indications of decreased succorance. Lastly, there was significant improvement between the two treatment groups as compared to the control group in relation to personal adjustment.