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Clinical Trial
. 2005 Jun 1;293(21):2601-8.
doi: 10.1001/jama.293.21.2601.

Treatment of complicated grief: a randomized controlled trial

Katherine Shear  1 , Ellen Frank, Patricia R Houck, Charles F Reynolds 3rd
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Treatment of complicated grief: a randomized controlled trial

Katherine Shear et al. JAMA. .

Abstract

Context: Complicated grief is a debilitating disorder associated with important negative health consequences, but the results of existing treatments for it have been disappointing.

Objective: To compare the efficacy of a novel approach, complicated grief treatment, with a standard psychotherapy (interpersonal psychotherapy).

Design: Two-cell, prospective, randomized controlled clinical trial, stratified by manner of death of loved one and treatment site.

Setting: A university-based psychiatric research clinic as well as a satellite clinic in a low-income African American community between April 2001 and April 2004.

Participants: A total of 83 women and 12 men aged 18 to 85 years recruited through professional referral, self-referral, and media announcements who met criteria for complicated grief.

Interventions: Participants were randomly assigned to receive interpersonal psychotherapy (n = 46) or complicated grief treatment (n = 49); both were administered in 16 sessions during an average interval of 19 weeks per participant.

Main outcome measure: Treatment response, defined either as independent evaluator-rated Clinical Global Improvement score of 1 or 2 or as time to a 20-point or better improvement in the self-reported Inventory of Complicated Grief.

Results: Both treatments produced improvement in complicated grief symptoms. The response rate was greater for complicated grief treatment (51%) than for interpersonal psychotherapy (28%; P = .02) and time to response was faster for complicated grief treatment (P = .02). The number needed to treat was 4.3.

Conclusion: Complicated grief treatment is an improved treatment over interpersonal psychotherapy, showing higher response rates and faster time to response.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow of Participants Through the Trial
Figure 2
Figure 2. Survival Analysis (Time to Response)
Response was defined as a decrease in the Inventory of Complicated Grief score of 20 points or more. CGT indicates complicated grief treatment; IPT, interpersonal psychotherapy.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

  • Is grief a disease? Sometimes.
    Glass RM. Glass RM. JAMA. 2005 Jun 1;293(21):2658-60. doi: 10.1001/jama.293.21.2658. JAMA. 2005. PMID: 15928289 No abstract available.

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