Weekend family gatherings for bereaved after the terror killings in Norway in 2011
Sammanfattning
This article describes a program to help bereaved families who all lost a close family member
during the Utøya terror where 69 people, mostly of young age, were shot and killed. The bereaved
gathered over four weekends to process and learn about grief in a program organized by the
Norwegian Directorate of Health (NDH). This proactive follow-up included bereaved parents and
siblings who took part in group sessions, plenary lectures, workshops, and social activities over four
weekends following the terror killings. The same structure was used in each gathering. The themes,
both in groups and plenary, changed over time and reflected important events (e.g., the trial, verdict,
commission report) and the grief process over time. A tentative evaluation by the NDH indicated that
the bereaved found this approach very helpful. The description provides a «blueprint» that can be a
starting point for organizing future follow-up for bereaved after disasters