The effectiveness of complicated grief therapy for prolonged grief disorder: A post-COVID-19 study in Pakistan

This study examines the effectiveness of Complicated Grief Therapy (CGT) in treating Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) associated with COVID-19-related grief in Pakistan. A total of 118 adults aged 20-50 years were screened using the Brief Grief Questionnaire (BGQ) with elevated grief scores. Sixty-seven met the criteria, but only 26 participants fully participated, with 13 in the treatment and control groups, respectively. The treatment group received CGT as an individual group treatment (Shear et al., 2005), while the control group received standard treatment of Interpersonal Therapy (IPT). Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test revealed significantly lower levels of grief, depression, anxiety, and stress within pre-post groups (p < .001). Mann-Whitney U Test indicated a significant difference between groups (U = 158.0, p = .0001, r = -.22), with the CGT group showing greater reductions in grief, depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms compared to IPT. CGT effectively alleviated PGD symptoms induced by COVID-19 losses.