Objectives: This study aimed to review journal articles related to bereaved family grief therapy programs,
to analyze the current status and characteristics of the published articles, and to evaluate the effectiveness
of grief therapy programs. Methods: The articles were selected from theses, dissertations, and academic
journals published between 2001 and 2016. Upon meeting the selection criteria, 39 articles were
systematically reviewed. Results: The study results showed that integrated art therapy programs comprised
53.8% of overall therapy programs and that 42.9% of studies examined anxiety and depression as
dependent variables. Among these articles, 12 using experimental study design were extracted. Twenty-two
protective factors and 36 risk factors were classified as outcome variables to examine the program effects.
Meta-analysis showed that the effect size was 1.710 for protective factors and –1.179 for risk factors,
indicating that the influence of grief therapy programs is large. In terms of moderating effects, the effect
of grief therapy programs on protective factors differed by subjects, while the effect of grief therapy
programs on risk factors differed by subjects, number of sessions, and length of sessions. Conclusions: This
study meaningfully probed research trends in grief therapy, identified the magnitude of effects through
meta-analysis, and provided empirical data on the specific effects of grief therapy programs, based on their
operational method.