Traumatic Bereavement and Mindfulness: A Preliminary Study of Mental Health Outcomes Using the ATTEND Model

Thieleman, Kara; Cacciatore, Joanne; Hill, Patricia A Wonch

doi:10.1007/s10615-014-0491-4

Cited by 28 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 39 publications

(56 reference statements)

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“…From the perspective of the broaden-and-build theory (Fredrickson, 1998(Fredrickson, , 2001, decentering awareness may broaden one's attention, which in turn may lead to more flexible thinking styles and positive emotions (e.g., compassion; Garland et al, 2010). Results from pilot studies showed the potential effectiveness of mindfulness-based treatment for reducing depression and PTSD levels among bereaved people (O'Connor et al, 2014;Thieleman et al, 2014). Future studies are needed to further explore the potential beneficial effect of this type of grief treatment.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploration of the Associations Between Responses to Affective States and Psychopathology in Two Samples of People Confronted With the Loss of a Loved One

Lenferink¹,

Wessel²,

Boelen

2018

J Nerv Ment Dis

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Adaptive regulation of positive and negative affect after the loss of a loved one may foster recovery. In two studies, using similar methods but different samples, we explored the association between positive (i.e., dampening and enhancing) and negative (i.e., rumination) affect regulation strategies and symptoms levels of postloss psychopathology. Study 1 used data from 187 people confronted with the death of a loved one. In study 2, the sample consisted of 134 relatives of long-term missing persons. Participants completed self-reports tapping prolonged grief, depression, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and affect regulation strategies. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that both negative and positive affect regulation strategies explained significant amounts of variance symptom levels in both samples. In line with previous work, our results suggest that negative and positive affect regulation strategies relate to postloss psychopathology. Future research should explore how both affect regulation strategies may adequately be addressed in treatment.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploration of the Associations Between Responses to Affective States and Psychopathology in Two Samples of People Confronted With the Loss of a Loved One

Lenferink¹,

Wessel²,

Boelen

2018

J Nerv Ment Dis

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“…Moreover, other third-wave cognitive behavioural treatments, such as compassion-focused therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy, are increasingly being used to target these phenomena (Beaumont & Hollins Martin, 2015; Dindo, Van Liew, & Arch, 2017). The first results of small trials among bereaved persons showed that mindfulness-based interventions might be effective in reducing symptoms of depression (O’Connor et al, 2014; Thieleman et al, 2014), anxiety, and PTS (Thieleman et al, 2014). Although non-significant reductions were found in PG and PTS levels in O’Connor et al’s (2014) study and some participants in Thieleman et al’s study (2014) reported increased symptomatology following the mindfulness-based treatment, it may be valuable to further study the potential effectiveness of these interventions, because the current treatment-of-choice, cognitive behavioural therapy, results in clinically relevant change in PG levels in at most 50% of people with PG (Doering & Eisma, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In general, mindfulness refers to present moment awareness to any inner experiences, whereas self-compassion is targeted at embracing one’s own suffering (Neff & Dahm, 2015). Preliminary findings of small clinical trials among bereaved people indicate that mindfulness-based approaches might be equally beneficial for targeting psychopathology levels in bereaved people as in non-bereaved people who suffer from similar complaints such as depression (O’Connor, Piet, & Hougaard, 2014; Thieleman, Cacciatore, & Hill, 2014). However, the link between self-compassion and psychopathology after bereavement, including PG symptoms, has, to the best of our knowledge, never been studied.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Grief rumination mediates the association between self-compassion and psychopathology in relatives of missing persons

Lenferink

Eisma

Keijser

et al. 2017

European Journal of Psychotraumatology

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Background: The disappearance of a loved one is a unique type of loss, also termed ‘ambiguous loss’, which may heighten the risk for developing prolonged grief (PG), depression, and posttraumatic stress (PTS) symptoms. Little is known about protective and risk factors for psychopathology among relatives of missing persons. A potential protective factor is self-compassion, referring to openness toward and acceptance of one’s own pain, failures, and inadequacies. One could reason that self-compassion is associated with lower levels of emotional distress following ambiguous loss, because it might serve as a buffer for getting entangled in ruminative thinking about the causes and consequences of the disappearance (‘grief rumination’). Objective: In a sample of relatives of missing persons we aimed to examine (1) the prediction that greater self-compassion is related to lower symptom-levels of PG, depression, and PTS and (2) to what extent these associations are mediated by grief rumination. Method: Dutch and Belgian relatives of long-term missing persons (N = 137) completed self-report measures tapping self-compassion, grief rumination, PG, depression, and PTS. Mediation analyses were conducted. Results: Self-compassion was significantly, negatively, and moderately associated with PG, depression, and PTS levels. Grief rumination significantly mediated the associations of higher levels of self-compassion with lower levels of PG (a*b = −0.11), depression (a*b = −0.07), and PTS (a*b = −0.11). Specifically, 50%, 32%, and 32% of the effect of self-compassion on PG, depression, and PTS levels, respectively, was accounted for by grief rumination. Conclusions: Findings suggest that people with more self-compassion experience less severe psychopathology, in part because these people are less strongly inclined to engage in ruminative thinking related to the disappearance. Strengthening a self-compassionate attitude using, for instance, mindfulness-based interventions may therefore be a useful intervention to reduce emotional distress associated with the disappearance of a loved one.

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“…Within the context of bereavement, the concept of acceptance has been integral to clinical mindfulness interventions that have been developed, such as based on the ATTEND (attunement, trust, touch, egalitarianism, nuance, and death education) framework [ 81 ]. However, evaluations of these interventions have thus far been limited [ 126 ].…”

Section: Coping and Appraisalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk and Resilience Factors Related to Parental Bereavement Following the Death of a Child with a Life-Limiting Condition

et al. 2017

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This paper reviews the theoretical and empirical literature on risk and resilience factors impacting on parental bereavement outcomes following the death of a child with a life-limiting condition. Over the past few decades, bereavement research has focussed primarily on a risk-based approach. In light of advances in the literature on resilience, the authors propose a Risk and Resilience Model of Parental Bereavement, thus endeavouring to give more holistic consideration to a range of potential influences on parental bereavement outcomes. The literature will be reviewed with regard to the role of: (i) loss-oriented stressors (e.g., circumstances surrounding the death and multiple losses); (ii) inter-personal factors (e.g., marital factors, social support, and religious practices); (iii) intra-personal factors (e.g., neuroticism, trait optimism, psychological flexibility, attachment style, and gender); and (iv) coping and appraisal, on parental bereavement outcomes. Challenges facing this area of research are discussed, and research and clinical implications considered.

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Traumatic Bereavement and Mindfulness: A Preliminary Study of Mental Health Outcomes Using the ATTEND Model

Cited by 28 publications

References 39 publications

Exploration of the Associations Between Responses to Affective States and Psychopathology in Two Samples of People Confronted With the Loss of a Loved One

Exploration of the Associations Between Responses to Affective States and Psychopathology in Two Samples of People Confronted With the Loss of a Loved One

Grief rumination mediates the association between self-compassion and psychopathology in relatives of missing persons

Risk and Resilience Factors Related to Parental Bereavement Following the Death of a Child with a Life-Limiting Condition

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