Um grupo terapêutico vivendo o luto na terceira idade: um estudo qualitativo

Abstract

Old age is a stage of human development marred by recurrent losses: physical, social, and psychological. However, no loss tends to be bigger than the death of a loved one. Grief is linked to the way the person manages to elaborate this absence. The intensity of pain is related to the importance of the affective bond. But, the persistence of suffering and the level of psychological damage depend on the psychosocial resources, skills and context of the person, features that often are not intact in old age. This study reports on a semi-structured group treatment and aims to find out if and through which changes and clinical processes the proposed group favors a better elaboration of mourning. Nine bereaved elderly people participated in 8 weekly meetings, lasting 2.5 hours each. The work was experiential and interpersonal, integrating the principles of contextual behavioral therapies and community groups, guided by contemporary models of grief. Following the principles of Grounded Theory Analysis, the audio recordings of the sessions were transcribed verbatim and analyzed in stages: analytical (or open) coding; focused coding; construction of categories. Memos were prepared, based on the field diaries researcher of the researcher and her team. The theoretical model that emerged from this material describes the process the group went through. Its starting point is distinguished by painful experiences and both problematic and proactive responses. During the group process, counterproductive behaviors were identified, as well as healing processes including socialization, openness to the other, reacting against counterproductive behaviors, acceptance of emerging emotions, active involvement, and the integration of contact with loss and restoration. The resignification of grief went mainly through the rescue of what is important. Success was characterized, above all, by broadening horizons and affective availability for the other. The results allow us to affirm the feasibility of a contextual therapy for groups of bereaved elderly