Bereavement experiences of lesbian widows

Qualitative studies suggest conjugally-bereaved lesbians may be at increased risk for developing complicated grief. This dissertation integrates research on heterosexual conjugal bereavement with the existing research on lesbian relationships in order to inform clinicians about factors that may lead to intensified grief reactions in lesbian widows. Lesbian relationships tend to be characterized by high levels of emotional closeness and low levels of conflict, which are relationship qualities that have been linked to intensified grief in heterosexual widows. While psychosocial support is a protective factor against complicated grief, lesbian widows often lack such support from family, friends, coworkers, and religious communities. Additionally, stressors caused by legal discrimination can interfere with the grieving process. While professional grief support can aid in successful resolution of grief, lesbian widows underutilize these services. This dissertation highlights several reasons for this. First, lesbian individuals tend to seek out lesbian-specific services due to a history of oppression and discrimination from medical and mental health providers. When they fail to find lesbian-specific support groups, many choose to suffer alone. Others choose to attend mainstream grief support groups, but drop out after experiencing subtle or overt forms of discrimination. The author advocates for the creation of lesbian-specific grief support groups. When this is not possible, bereavement support providers should ensure their services are LGBT-affirmative and inclusive. The author created and gave a PowerPoint presentation designed to train mental health professionals and paraprofessionals on the provision of LGBT-affirmative bereavement support services. Evaluations of the presentation were analyzed and discussed.