Counseling Adolescents Through Loss Grief And Trauma

Loss, grief, and trauma come into the lives of adolescents in many forms and with more frequency than the adults in their lives may realize. Assessing the depth and nature of their emotions can be difficult; adolescents are typically reluctant to show strong emotions and can be difficult to reach, particularly when they experience the untimely death of a loved one. How best to work with a young person who may have trouble communicating their emotions even under the best of circumstances? And what if he or she has learned about the death of a loved one or classmate from another peer rather than a family member? What about gender differences and the influence of culture and family? What role do cell phones, text messaging, and technologies such as Facebook play in the adolescent grief experience? Adolescents’ use of technology creates unlimited access to friends, support systems, and information, but news that spreads quickly without buffering effects can intensify the strength of the adolescent grief responses. Counseling Adolescents Through Loss, Grief, and Trauma not only examines these issues; it also provides clinicians with a wealth of resources and time-tested therapeutic activities that are sure to become an indispensable part of any clinician’s practice.

Provides developmentally appropriate interventions for counselling children and adolescents who have experienced a wide range of grief and loss, including secondary and intangible losses such as moving or divorce. It provides a method for assessing individual needs and offers guidelines for selecting appropriate counselling strategies.

A guide for treating trauma and bereavement that can be flexibly implemented in group and individual settings to empower adolescents.

Understanding Child and Adolescent Grief incorporates theory, clinical applications, case studies, and current research on contemporary models of grief pertaining to children and adolescents. The integration of developmental perspectives, attachment theory, and neurobiological implications provides a thorough summary of the many factors that can affect a child's growth and development, and the subsequent influence on grief expression. Chapters explore relevant social topics rarely addressed in other texts, such as the death of African American men, suicide among Aboriginal youth in Canada, death/suicide among LGBTQ youth and social media's influence. Also included are practical tips for helping professionals who want to better understand how grief and loss affect children and teens, as well as a meditation guide that provides concrete opportunities for growth and healing.

Living With Grief: Children, Adolescents, and Loss, (2000) edited by Kenneth J. Doka, features articles by leading educators and clinicians in the field of grief and bereavement. The chapters entitled "Voices" are the writings of children and adolescents. The book includes a comprehensive resource list of national organizations and a useful bibliography of age-appropriate literature for children and adolescents.

This is the authoritative guide to conducting trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy (TF-CBT), a systematic, evidence-based treatment for traumatized children and their families. Provided is a comprehensive framework for assessing posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and other symptoms; developing a flexible, individualized treatment plan; and working collaboratively with children and parents to build core skills in such areas as affect regulation and safety. Specific guidance is offered for responding to different types of traumatic events, with an entire section devoted to grief-focused components. Useful appendices feature resources, reproducible handouts, and information on obtaining additional training. TF-CBT has been nationally recognized as an exemplary evidence-based program. See also the edited volume Trauma-Focused CBT for Children and Adolescents: Treatment Applications for more information on tailoring TF-CBT to children's varying developmental levels and cultural backgrounds.

A structured, sequential, and evidence-based approach for the treatment of children and adolescents experiencing trauma or grief Working With Grieving and Traumatized Children and Adolescents features the Structured Sensory Interventions for Traumatized Children, Adolescents and Parents (SITCAP) intervention model, proven in successfully addressing violent situations such as murder, domestic violence, and physical abuse, as well as non-violent grief- and trauma-inducing situations including divorce, critical injuries, car fatalities, terminal illness, and environmental disasters. Filled with practical and proven activities for use with children and adolescents experiencing trauma and grief, this resource is based on the authors' experience working with all types of traumatic events in school-, agency-, and community-based programs across the country.

For some, life’s introduction to death and grief comes early, and when it does it can take many forms. Not only does Dealing with Dying, Death, and Grief during Adolescence tackle them all, it does so with David Balk’s remarkable sensitivity to and deep knowledge of the pressures and opportunities adolescents face in their transition from childhood to adulthood. In seamless, jargon-free language, Balk brings readers up to date with what we know about adolescent development, because over time such changes form the backstory we need to comprehend the impact of death and bereavement in an adolescent’s life. The book’s later chapters break down the recent findings in the study of life-threatening illness and bereavement during adolescence. And, crucially, these chapters also examine interventions that assist adolescents coping with these difficulties. Clinicians will come away from this book with both a grounded understanding of adolescent development and the adolescent experience of death, and they’ll also gain specific tools for helping adolescents cope with death and grief on their own terms. For any clinician committed to supporting adolescents facing some of life’s most difficult experiences, this integrated, up-to-date, and deeply insightful text is simply the book to have. David E. Balk is professor in the department of health and nutrition sciences at Brooklyn College (CUNY), where he directs the graduate program in thanatology. He is the author of Adolescent Development: Early Through Late Adolescence, Helping the Bereaved College Student, and several other books on death and bereavement. He is also co-editor of the 2nd edition of the Handbook of Thanatology (Routledge, 2013).