Preparing for Loss: A Psychoeducation and Support Group Curriculum for Emerging Adults With Anticipatory Grief Who Have a Terminally Ill Parent

Anticipating the loss of parent is a difficult and often traumatic experience for anyone at any age. For emerging adults, however, added academic, occupational, and social pressures, as well as a tendency to engage in risky behaviors, makes this population more vulnerable to difficulty when navigating the grief process. Currently there are no available treatment models for working with emerging adults who are experiencing symptoms of anticipatory grief in the hospital setting. The objective of this dissertation is to provide an eight–week psychoeducation and support group curriculum that can be utilized by hospital staff (e.g., clergy, mental health therapists, social workers, oncology nurses) within palliative care clinics to assist young people in the 18-25 age range who are struggling with the impending loss of a parent who is terminally ill. Keywords: anticipatory grief, parental loss, emerging adulthood, hospice/palliative care, support