Working With Bereaved Children And Young People

Working with Bereaved Children and Young People offers a fresh insight into working practices with children and young people who are experiencing the death of a family member, friend, school peer or in their social network. Bridging the gap between theory and practice, the book's practical skills focus is informed by the latest research findings on children and young people's experience of grief. The wide-ranging content includes: a comprehensive review of theoretical approaches to bereavementthe impact of different types of grief on childrenworking with children who have been bereaved in traumatic circumstances, such as through criminal behaviorskills development The list of resources, case studies and exercises encourage critical engagement with the counselling theory and promote reflexive practice. Trainees in counselling, psychotherapy and social work, as well as teachers and mental health workers, will find this an invaluable resource for working with this vulnerable client group.

Bringing together fourteen experts from across the United States and Canada, Bereaved Children and Teens is a comprehensive guide to helping children and adolescents cope with the emotional, religious, social, and physical consequences of a loved one's death. The result is an indispensable reference for parents, teachers, counselors, health-care professionals, and clergy. Topics covered include what to say and what not to say when explaining death to very young children; how teenagers grieve differently from children and adults; how to translate Protestant, Catholic, or Jewish beliefs about death into language that children can understand; how ethnic and cultural differences can affect how children grieve; what teachers and parents can do to help bereaved young people at school; and activities, books, and films that help children and teens cope.

This practical guide provides a framework and useful techniques for helping bereaved youth in numerous settings This welcomed addition to the field of childhood bereavement is brimming with innovative yet practical interventions for human service professionals helping grieving youth in a variety of settings. Written by noted experts with over 40 years of combined experience, this comprehensive “how to” book provides both a framework for understanding how grief impacts the lives of children, and models, techniques and interventions for individual, family, and group counseling. The book is based on best practices and the authors experience working with grieving families. It includes hands-on tips for interacting with and helping grieving children. Specific guidelines are provided for individual and group support including practical methods for creating meaningful spaces for young people to find help, encouragement, and healing. The book’s developmental, environmental, cultural, and social considerations equip professionals with the tools to better understand the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual reactions of their young clients. Additionally, the book offers insightful information on professional accountability, ethical concerns, educational recommendations and training. Professionals who work with bereaved children daily and those who occasionally encounter them in their practice will find a wealth of resources in this book. Key Features: Brimming with innovative, practical interventions to support grieving children and teens Provides individual, family, and group counseling models, techniques, and interventions Embodies strategies for working with bereaved youth that can be used in a variety of settings, including mental health, health care, schools, and faith communities Offers a framework for understanding how grief impacts the lives of children

The contact between a health care professional and a bereaved child can often be very brief, and yet the interaction can have a profound effect on the child, and on the professional themself. This book describes and illustrates the concept of brief therapeutic work with bereaved children and families. Recent years have seen increasing interest in the needs of children facing bereavement, and a corresponding increase in services to support them. Brief Interventions with Bereaved children addresses and explains the theoretical concepts and practical implications behind the idea of brief work with bereaved children and families. Flexible and accessible short term services delivered at the right time underpin the strengths of bereaved children, supporting their recovery rather than pathologising the grief process. The topic of this book is unique in the field, and will appeal to palliative care practitioners, educators and service providers managing scarce resources. The book feautures some distinguished contributors with backgrounds in health care, education, social work and the police, alongside theoretical and practice based chapters from workers in the field of bereavement care for children. There is also a chapter from the service user's perspective.

Talking with Children and Young People about Death and Dying is a popular resource designed to help adults talk to bereaved children and young people. Mary Turner explains the various aspects and stages of bereavement and offers useful insights into the concerns of children experiencing grief or facing an imminent bereavement. She addresses children's common fears and worries, dreams and nightmares, and acknowledges the effect of trauma on the grief process. This second edition includes a new section for adults on understanding the distress of a bereaved child and also a list of useful contacts. It is a fully photocopiable workbook that enables adults to deal with these issues sensitively and explains, for example, how to choose appropriate words to support the child. It will empower and equip adults working with bereaved children to encourage them to communicate their pain and understand the often contradictory emotions aroused by the death of someone close to them.

Based on Alan Wolfelt's six needs of mourning and written to pair with Companioning the Grieving Child, this thorough guide provides hundreds of hands-on activities tailored for grieving children in three age groups: preschool, elementary, and teens. Through the use of readings, games, discussion questions, and arts and crafts, caregivers can help grieving young people acknowledge the reality of the death, embrace the pain of the loss, remember the person who died, develop a new self-identity, search for meaning, and accept support. Sample activities include grief sock puppets, expression bead bracelets, the nurturing game, and writing an autobiographical poem. Activities are presented in an easy-to-follow format, and each has a goal, an objective, a sequential description of the activity, and a list of needed materials.

Practical and accessible, this guidebook is designed to help staff in schools support bereaved children in their care. Providing information and guidance on practical issues around bereavement and indicating some of the issues that might require extra thought or assistance, this book makes accessing relevant information as easy and quick as possible. When busy school staff are faced with a bereaved child, the prospect can be daunting. What do I say? What can I do? Will I make it worse? Have I got time to do this? This book is a toolbox to give staff confidence in helping bereaved young people. Information is easily accessed and simple to use, giving staff quick and practical help. There are sections on what will help and what will not; also included are photocopiable worksheets and tools to aid children and young people to explore their grief, as well as information on how school communities can share the news and manage an initial response. With age-appropriate guidance to help school staff working in both primary and secondary settings, this key guide provides quick-to-access information for those not trained in child bereavement to help individual children or whole classes following a loss.

This book examines what we know about young people, bereavement and loss. It includes case studies and other evidence of how young people discuss their experiences of bereavement; the theoretical history of research into bereavement and young people; the evidence of bereavement as a 'risk factor' in the lives of young people; the social and cultural contexts of bereavement, and approaches to education and intervention. It considers the implications for policy-makers and practitioners developing best procedures and practice for working with bereaved young people. This book will help those involved with working with young people - across the broad range of mainstream as well as specialist services - to respond imaginatively and rigorously to this issue in young people's lives.