Investigated bereaved spouses' assessments of participation in self-help groups consisting of 8 weekly meetings with (n=52) or without (n=82) additional 10 monthly meetings. Regardless of group duration or leadership by professional or widowed peer, assessments were positive. Most commonly reported benefit participants hoped to gain was emotional…

Volunteers (n=203) obtained through Compassionate Friends newsletters completed questionnaires consisting of Purpose in Life Test, Grief Experience Inventory, and questions on meaning. Findings indicated that lower purpose in life for bereaved parents was related to less time since death, loss by suicide, loss of only child, and loss of more than…

Examined relationship between fathers and mothers in a self-help group of bereaved parents, including dynamics of couples already divorced, those who divorce within a few years after their child's death, and those who remain married. Results suggest that marital relationships are not separate from whole set of dynamics associated with the death of…

Describes the Compassionate Friends self-help group as an effective intervention in the severe bereavement after the death of a child. The decision to attend the group, to affiliate, to transform oneself into a helper within the group form the framework of the description. (Author/NRB)

Describes the role of the counselor in self-help groups for the bereaved. Based on experience with the Compassionate Friends, a group of bereaved parents, the counselors' most useful role appears to be that of an intermediary, resource person, and facilitator of group processes and organization. (Author/JAC)