The Impact of a Group Counseling Program on a Sample of Bereaved Refugee Adolescents in Jordanian Schools

Abstract

Intervening with bereaved students through counseling and psychotherapy can aid in reducing negative emotions and enhancing their adaptability. The current study aimed to identify the effectiveness of a group counseling program in reducing guilt and prolonged grief and increasing the psychological resilience of a sample of bereaved refugee adolescents in Jordanian schools. The study sample comprised 30 Syrian refugee students split equally between an experimental group and a control group. The authors used measures assessing levels of guilt, prolonged grief and psychological resilience, as well as a counseling program consisting of 14 sessions. After the group counseling program was developed and validated, the study authors implemented it in the experimental group. The results showed that there were statistically significant differences between the experimental group and the control group in terms of reducing guilt and prolonged grief levels, as well as increasing psychological resilience. Following the discussion of the results, the research implementation and limitations were added.