Tasks of mourning and teh transtheoretical model of change implications for grief therapy /

by Davis, James S.

Davis James S. (Writer) (Last Name) (First Name) (Middle Initial) The Tasks of Mourning and the Transtheoretical Model of Change: Implications for Grief Therapy (Title) Guidance and Counseling: Mental Health Counseling (Graduate Program) Dr. Stephen Shumate May, 2004 86 pages (Research Advisor) (Month/Year) (# of Pages) This study examined 32 female, middle-aged bereaved subjects involved in a rural grief therapy group, applying the Transtheoretical Model of Change (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1982, 1983) to the tasks of mourning (Worden, 2002), with the purpose of extending the change model beyond pathological issues, while furthering the individualization of interventions for the bereaved. Individual volunteers were administered three self-report instruments including the Texas Revised Grief Inventory (Faschingbauer, Zisook, & DeVaul, 1987), the Tasks of Mourning: Self-Report American Psychological Association, 5th edition (Name of Style Manual Used in this Study) iii Instrument (adapted by the researcher from Worden, 2002), and the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment (McCannaughty, Prochaska, & Velicer, 1983). The correlations between the individual stages of change and the sequential tasks of mourning were not statistically significant. Post hoc comparisons demonstrated a strong relationship between Precontemplation and Task Four and a minimal relationship with Tasks Two and Three. This may signify that Precontemplators exhibit a reluctance to express grief and to adapt to life without the deceased. The Action stage was related to Tasks Two, and Three with a limited association with Task Four of mourning. This may indicate that those involved in the mourning process actively express grief and modify their environments, and that the Action stage may be interrupted or discontinued upon fully integrating the loss. Discussion of implications for research and bereavement counseling are presented. iv