Empower-Grief: A Study on a Selective Intervention to Prevent Prolonged Grief Disorder

The EMPOWER intervention (Enhancing and Mobilizing the POtential for Wellness and Emotional Resilience) is a cognitive-behavioral and acceptance-based intervention divided into six modules.In the current application, this intervention is conducted in 6 in-presence or online 50-minute sessions and 2 booster sessions 2 and 4 weeks after the final intervention. It is a manualized treatment in which each session has a specific goal: 1st) Welcome, initial assessment and adherence to the intervention; 2nd) Psychoeducation and transmission of resources for stabilization; 3rd) Psychoeducation on Trauma, Grief and Cognitive-Behavioral Model; 4th)Promoting Experiential Acceptance; 5th) Imagined dialogue; 6th) Coping Training; and two final boosting sessions. In every session, the impact of the previous consultation and evolution is evaluated. This intervention was developed by Lichtenthal et al., 2022.

The treatment as usual (TAU) consists of supportive psychotherapy based on a non-structured and integrative method that focuses on the development of more adaptive coping strategies, understanding and working on the patient's internal models of self, others, and the world. The TAU will be considered during the same period as the EMPOWER intervention.