Reconnecting to the Person Before Acquired Brain Injury: A Continuing Bonds Grief Intervention

Acquired brain injury (ABI) affects millions yearly potentially altering the emotional, behavioral, and physical characteristics of the person. Consequently, it can result in the person before the ABI being markedly different from the person after. Family members of individuals with ABI often report feeling grief but there is limited support to help them. This study aimed to pilot a four-week grief writing intervention based on the continuing bonds intervention “Hello Again,” for family members after ABI. The purpose was to determine the experience of writing the letters and the perceived benefit. Recruitment was through volunteer sampling, and three participants took part in the study. An interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to determine the meanings of the writing task for the participants. The writing task was perceived to be beneficial, with four subordinate themes emerging: Acknowledging grief, Finding space to mourn, Creating an integrated narrative, and Writing being difficult but necessary. This study contributes novelly to the field both in research and practice. It is the first study to apply a continuing bonds perspective and implement a continuing bonds intervention for family members of individuals with ABI.