Abstract
Family-based bereavement interventions have shown promises to prevent problem outcomes and promote resilience in parentally bereaved children. Evidence of the broad range of mental and physical health problems following the death of a parent supports the need for a transdiagnostic approach that promotes adaptation and reduces multiple problem outcomes for parentally bereaved families. We discuss self-compassion as a promising framework for a transdiagnostic approach. We argue that three elements of self-compassion—mindfulness (vs. over-identification), self-kindness (vs. self-judgment), and common humanity (vs. isolation)—can facilitate loss-oriented coping, restoration-oriented coping, and the oscillation process between the two. This sets the foundation for individual and family processes that support bereavement adjustment. To explain how self-compassion promotes adjustment outcomes in parentally bereaved families, we review the extant literature with a focus on parental emotion regulation and effective parenting and propose a conceptual model with testable hypotheses to guide more research in this area. The model suggests that caregivers’ self-compassion is a resilience resource for multiple adaptive outcomes for themselves and for their child through its positive impacts on emotion regulation and effective parenting. We illustrate the utility of the framework with an example of a family-based bereavement prevention program that integrated self-compassion training. Future directions for research are discussed.
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Notes
In Neff (2003a)’s conceptualization, the term “mindfulness” is a component of self-compassion that refers to nonreactive, nonjudgmental, and open-hearted awareness of one’s distressing feelings or thoughts and difficult experiences. In contrast, Kabat-Zinn (2015) defines mindfulness more broadly as “moment-to-moment nonjudgmental awareness” of all experiences, “cultivated by paying attention in a specific way, that is, in the present moment, and as non-reactively, as non-judgementally, and as openheartedly as possible.”.
Although the RPBF program included low doses of mindfulness training, additional resources were provided to enhance the learning that were made available on the website of the RPBF program.
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Acknowledgements
Na Zhang would like to acknowledge the death of her daughter, Isabella, during the creation of this paper. Bereavement is one of the most painful and meaningful experiences that teach humans about life, death, love and compassion. Corresponding author: Na Zhang, 1 University Place, Stamford, CT, USA 06901. Email address: nazhang@uconn.edu
Funding
Na Zhang acknowledges support from the National Institute of Mental Health under grant K01MH122502. Karey O’Hara acknowledges support from the National Institute of Mental Health under grant K01MH120321. Irwin Sandler and Sharlene Wolchik acknowledge funding from the New York Life Foundation to work on the development of an online version of the Resilient Parenting for Bereaved Families program.
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Kara Thieleman is a program coordinator of the Resilient Parenting for Bereaved Families program at the REACH Institute, Arizona State University.
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Zhang, N., Sandler, I., Thieleman, K. et al. Self-Compassion for Caregivers of Children in Parentally Bereaved Families: A Theoretical Model and Intervention Example. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 26, 430–444 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-023-00431-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-023-00431-w