Bereavement During and Not During the Pandemic in Terms of Complicated Grief and Social Support

Mandated measures to reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus (e.g., social distancing and travel restrictions) led to isolation and reshaped the dying process as well as grief rituals for loved ones of deceased individuals due to COVID-19 and other causes of death. The purpose of this study was to investigate the difference between those who lost a loved one during and not during the global pandemic in terms of complicated grief and perceived social support. A cross-sectional quantitative approach was employed, surveying 580 individuals, all of whom had experienced the loss of a loved one. Our findings suggest that bereavement during the COVID-19 era uniquely intensified the Complicated Grief experience. However, the perceived social support did not vary based on the timing of the bereavement. The strengths, limitations, and future research directions are further explored.

Wellness, Exposure to Trauma, and Vicarious Traumatization: A Pilot Study

Due to the increasing number of clients seeking counseling who have experienced trauma, counselors are at a greater risk for developing vicarious traumatization and becoming impaired. Wellness has been described as helpful in managing the effects of working with clients who have experienced trauma and in mitigating impairment. The current pilot study examined how exposure to client trauma experiences impacted counselors' (N = 68) wellness and how exposure to client trauma along with wellness influenced vicarious traumatization. Participants had an average of 12.9 years of experience and a caseload on which most clients reported a trauma history. The expectation that greater exposure to client trauma would influence wellness was not met. However, results indicated that counselors with higher levels of wellness along with exposure to client trauma exhibited significantly lower levels of vicarious traumatization. The pilot study builds awareness of vicarious traumatization and highlights the importance of wellness.

A misunderstanding regarding the duty to report suspected abuse

Confusion exists among professionals as to the circumstances under which a mandatory child abuse reporter must file a report. A review of the literature reveals that professionals sometimes feel obligated to make reports, even though they harbor no suspicion that abuse actually occurred. For example, some individuals believe that they must report abuse allegations made by other individuals, even if the mandatory reporter does not suspect abuse. The authors found that the mandatory reporting statutes of 49 states and the District of Columbia do not require reports unless the reporter has a suspicion of abuse. New York may be an exception. The authors conclude that mandatory reporters generally are not required to report abuse allegations if they themselves do not suspect that abuse occurred. This article encourages mandatory reporters to report abuse as required by the law, but not make unnecessary reports out of confusion or misinformation.