This PhD-project “The disappearance of a significant other: Consequences and care” started in April 2014 and was successfully finished in May 2018.
The first aim of this research project was to identify variables that are associated with psychopathology among relatives of missing persons. This aim was fulfilled in studies carried out among 137 Dutch and Belgian relatives of long-term missing persons.
The second aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of a psychological intervention for reducing psychopathology levels among relatives of missing persons in a pilot randomized controlled trial. In total 17 people were randomly allocated to one out of two conditions (cognitive behavioural therapy + mindfulness vs. waiting list control condition).
Treatment materials that were developed for the psychological intervention can be found here.