Family Intervention With Bereaved Children

This paper describes an intervention study carried out with 45 families (83 children) where one of the parents died, leaving a child or children under 16 years of age. The families were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups, the treatment group being seen by a family therapist for approximately six sessions within 3-5 months of bereavement. All the families were contacted approximately 1 year after and again 2 years after the bereavement and a structured interview was carried out, covering parental health and psychiatric state, the children's health and behaviour, and the death and events surrounding it. At follow-up, there was some indication that the treatment group had benefited from the brief intervention. The implications for practice are discussed.