comparison of the effectiveness of grief counseling and god-oriented spiritual counseling on death anxiety and perceived spirituality in individuals with covid-19 grief

Background: during the covid-19 pandemic, grief and bereavement have been the most prevalent psychological problems experienced. therefore, the aim of the present study was to compare the effectiveness of grief counseling and god-oriented spiritual counseling on death anxiety and spirituality in people with covid-19 grief. methods: the present quasi-experimental study was conducted with a pretest-posttest design, a control group, and follow-up. the population consisted of all inhabitants of shahr-e-rey who had lost a member of their family due to covid-19 in 2021. participants (n = 51) were selected through purposive sampling based on their acceptance to participate in the study and the inclusion criteria, and were randomly assigned to 2 experimental groups (n = 34) and 1 control group (n = 17). data were collected using templer’s death anxiety scale (das) and the spiritual perspective scale (sps) in the pretest, posttest, and follow-up stages. the collected data were analyzed in spss software using repeated measures anova. results: the results showed that both methods of intervention were effective in reducing death anxiety and increasing perceived spirituality. however, god-oriented spiritual counseling was more effective in reducing death anxiety and increasing perceived spirituality compared to grief counseling (p < 0.05). conclusion: the results strongly support the effectiveness of grief counseling and god-oriented spiritual counseling on death anxiety and perceived spirituality. policymakers and mental health experts can use both counseling approaches (based on cognitive-behavioral therapy and complex bereavement therapy) in designing individual and community-oriented interventions related to bereavement, provided they pay attention to the needs of the target community.