A Bereavement Group for College Students

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Abstract
This paper describes a support group for college students who had suffered a death in the family. The author reviews the symptoms of acute grief and the process of mourning; he describes how painful and difficult grieving can be for college students because of their developmental stage and because of the nature of the college environment. The author suggests that a model of time-limited group psychotherapy can be adapted to the developmental stage of college students, the nature of the college community, and the particular task of grief work. The author describes the course of a bereavement group he led and offers suggestions for the use of such groups, which provide models for outreach efforts and for employing group modalities on campus. A bereavement group facilitates both adjustment to death and readjustment to the campus; it may help prevent withdrawal from school and academic failure.

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