CHPN CHPN Bereavement & Grief Support 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A bereaved adult child tells the hospice social worker, 'I keep expecting my mother to call me every Sunday like she always did.' This experience best represents:
- Normal grief with continued bond experiences (Correct answer)
- A psychotic episode
- Denial requiring psychiatric intervention
- Pathological hallucination
Correct answer: Normal grief with continued bond experiences
Sensing or expecting contact with a deceased loved one is a common and normal part of grief, known as a post-bereavement hallucinatory experience or continuing bonds.
Question 2: Which type of bereavement support is considered most intensive and appropriate for a survivor identified as high risk for complicated grief?
- Individual grief counseling or referral to a mental health professional (Correct answer)
- A sympathy card and single phone call
- Group grief support only
- No follow-up; grief resolves naturally
Correct answer: Individual grief counseling or referral to a mental health professional
High-risk bereaved individuals benefit most from individualized counseling or mental health referral rather than standard bereavement follow-up contacts.
Question 3: A bereaved husband reports his wife died by suicide two months ago and he has been isolating and drinking heavily. The hospice bereavement counselor's priority intervention is:
- Assess for suicidal ideation and safety, then facilitate mental health referral (Correct answer)
- Encourage him to attend a community grief group
- Provide written grief education materials
- Wait 12 months before intensifying support
Correct answer: Assess for suicidal ideation and safety, then facilitate mental health referral
Suicide loss survivors have elevated risk of suicide themselves; immediate safety assessment and mental health referral are the priority interventions.
Question 4: Anticipatory grief in hospice refers to:
- Grief experienced by patients and families before the actual death occurs (Correct answer)
- Grief that is anticipated to be prolonged
- Grief support planning done in advance by the team
- A form of pathological denial
Correct answer: Grief experienced by patients and families before the actual death occurs
Anticipatory grief is the process of mourning that begins before death, as patients and families grieve the losses that are already occurring and those yet to come.
Question 5: When a child is part of a bereaved family, the hospice bereavement team should:
- Provide age-appropriate grief support and encourage honest, simple explanations of death (Correct answer)
- Shield the child from all information about the death
- Refer the child to psychiatric care immediately
- Wait until the child asks questions before intervening
Correct answer: Provide age-appropriate grief support and encourage honest, simple explanations of death
Children need honest, age-appropriate explanations of death and grief support tailored to their developmental stage to process their loss effectively.
Question 6: Which statement best describes the dual process model of grief developed by Stroebe and Schut?
- Bereaved individuals oscillate between loss-oriented coping and restoration-oriented coping (Correct answer)
- Grief progresses through five sequential stages
- Grief resolves once acceptance is achieved
- Bereaved individuals must complete four tasks in order
Correct answer: Bereaved individuals oscillate between loss-oriented coping and restoration-oriented coping
The dual process model describes healthy grief as oscillating between focusing on the loss itself and focusing on rebuilding life, with both orientations necessary for adaptation.
CHPN CHPN Bereavement & Grief Support 2
A bereaved adult child tells the hospice social worker, 'I keep expecting my mother to call me every Sunday like she always did.' This experience best represents: