Understanding and Supporting Bereaved Children: A Practical Guide for Professionals

This welcome addition to the field of childhood bereavement provides a clearly organized overview of innovative and practical interventions for human service professionals helping bereaved children and their families in a variety of settings. Written by noted experts with over 40 years of combined experience, this comprehensive, “how to” book provides a framework for understanding how grief resulting from a death impacts the lives of children, and includes models, techniques, and interventions for individual, family, and group counseling.Based on best practices and the authors’ experience working with grieving families, this book describes how children are affected by the death of someone close to them, and provides a framework for addressing the needs of these children and their families and caregivers. The authors’ approach is straightforward and compassionate, and examples of children’s artwork reinforce the concepts discussed. Specific approaches are provided for individual and group support, including practical ways to create meaningful spaces for young people to find help, encouragement, and healing. In addition, the book offers a chapter on professional accountability, ethical concerns, and educational recommendations and training. Professionals who work with bereaved children daily, as well as those who only occasionally encounter them in their practice, will benefit from this book.Key Features:Brimming with innovative, practical approaches for supporting bereaved children and teens, including “How to Help” sections and suggested activities to use with this populationProvides individual, family, and group counseling models, techniques, and interventionsOutlines effective strategies for working with bereaved youth that can be used in a variety of settings, including mental health, health care, schools, and faith communitiesOffers a useful framework for understanding how grief impacts the lives of childrenProvides visual and emotional dimensions to concepts through artwork created by bereaved children of different agesIncludes a chapter devoted to professional and ethical considerations Read more