ABSTRACT
Kari Dyregrov, Gudrun Dieserud, M. Straiton, et al. undertook an empirical study of the benefits of the psychological autopsy (PA). It has been argued, despite the observations already in the 1950s, that the PA will evoke painful memories. The reported benefits from participation have included the following: increased self-awareness, gaining insight into the death, feelings of empowerment, feeling a sense of purpose, and improved communication. Even though everyone labeled the PA experience as therapeutic, many emphasized the benefits of increased insight and understanding of the unacceptable and/or incomprehensible. The majority of informants responded with an overall positive experience. They were unambiguous. A small group of informants were quite neutral and impartial: they reported the experience as "unproblematic." Almost all informants who reported pain associated it to avoidance. They had been attempting to deny, inhibit, and/or suppress the feelings, if not the reality; all negative.
