Complicated grief in help-seeking torture survivors in sub-Saharan African contexts.
Abstract
Many help-seeking torture survivors in sub-Saharan Africa report sudden or violent bereavements, as well as risk factors associated with complicated grief. This mixed-methods article reviews 85 therapeutic client files from torture treatment centers in 3 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Thirty-nine clients had lost loved ones and were at greater risk for depression (effect size 0.65) and thoughts of suicide (OR = 4.99). Qualitative analysis of case histories and interviews with clients elaborate the links between torture and complicated grief. Recommendations are offered for the treatment of complicated grief in sub-Saharan torture survivors, and implications for assessment, timing, and treatment duration are discussed.
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Bereaved clients, compared to non-bereaved clients, were more likely to experience elevated symptoms of distress such as crying easily, suicidal thoughts, pounding heart, and headaches.
“Bereaved clients (compared to non-bereaved) were more likely to experience elevated symptoms of distress such as crying easily, suicidal thoughts, pounding heart and headaches.”
From The assessment of grief in refugees and post-conflict survivors: a narrative review of etic and emic research (2018) · cites this paper as Higson-Smith, 2014
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Killikelly, C., Bauer, S., & Maercker, A. (2018) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01957 · Cited by 71 · see citing works
- Authors
- Higson-Smith, C.
- Affiliations
- University of the Witwatersrand (ZA)
- Corresponding author
- Higson-Smith, Craig
- ORCID
- Higson-Smith, Craig
- Venue
- American Journal of Orthopsychiatry
- Published
- 2014-09
- Volume
- 84
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 487-495
- ISSN
- 0002-9432 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-0025
- OpenAlex
- W1972056185
- Cited by
- 6
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 2
- FWCI
- 0.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- American Journal of Orthopsychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation
- Independent Medical Legal Unit
- Centre for Rehabilitation and the Abolition of Torture
- African Population and Health Research Center
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Migration, Health and Trauma
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
- Keywords
- complicated grief, torture survivors, help-seeking, sub-Saharan Africa, sudden bereavement, depression, suicidal ideation, grief therapy
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Counseling, Female, Grief, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Torture, Survivors, Africa South of the Sahara, Qualitative Research
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