Bereavement Support Services for Individuals Who Have Experienced Traumatic Loss: A Grant Proposals

Abstract

Each year, over 200,000 individuals die from accidents, unintentional injuries, suicides, or homicides throughout Los Angeles County, creating a traumatic situation for their surviving families and putting them at risk for mental health complications. Crisis intervention services and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) are evidence-based interventions that have been shown to benefit individuals and families who have experienced a traumatic loss. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to develop a grant proposal to potentially fund a bereavement intervention program at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center in Pomona, California for families who have experienced a traumatic loss. This two-fold program offers in-hospital crisis intervention services for families, as well an 8-week MBCT program to help families in their adaptation to the loss. Program goals include the provision of crisis intervention services, the reduction of depressive symptoms associated with trauma, and helping families develop positive coping skills. The actual submission and/or funding of this grant was not required for the successful completion of the project.