Chronic Diseases Journal (Mar 2023)

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

  • Soheila Panahi,
  • Robabeh Ataeifar,
  • Maryam Bahrami-Heideji,
  • Nahid Havasi-Somar,
  • Biuk Tajeri

DOI
https://doi.org/10.22122/cdj.v11i1.751
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 18 – 28

Abstract

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BACKGROUND: 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. METHODS: The present quasi-experimental study was conducted with a pretest-posttest design, a control group, and follow-up. The population consisted of all inhabitants of‎ Shahr-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. RESULTS: 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). CONCLUSION: 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.

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