Group Therapy for Grief Resolution Among Widows at a Faith-Based Counselling Centre in Zamfara State, North West Nigeria

Grief following spousal bereavement in North West Nigerian Muslim communities is shaped by Islamic mourning practices, community social norms, and the psychological dimensions of attachment loss. Faith-based counselling centres have become important access points for psychological support in these communities, yet the effectiveness of structured group therapy for grief resolution in this context has not been examined. This study evaluates the effectiveness of a 10-session culturally adapted group therapy programme for grief resolution among widows at a faith-based counselling centre in Gusau, Zamfara State. A pre-test and post-test quasi-experimental design without a control group is applied to 35 widows completing the full programme. The Inventory of Complicated Grief and the World Health Organization-5 Well-Being Index are administered at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and six-week follow-up. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and effect size calculations are computed given the small sample. Qualitative post-programme interviews with 12 widows explore subjective experience of group therapy in an Islamic context. Available grief therapy literature from Nigeria identifies religious meaning-making integration and same-gender group composition as critical cultural adaptation requirements in Muslim community settings. Worden's Grief Model and the Interpersonal Process Model of group therapy provide the theoretical reference. Findings will inform grief intervention delivery at faith-based centres in North West Nigeria. Keywords: group therapy, grief resolution, widows, Zamfara State, faith-based counselling.