Support Strategies to Help Grieving Children
In this activity, you will:
Get the group to practise their communication and counselling skills with grieving
childrenFacilitator’s notes:
Children who are grieving can be supported through bereavement counselling.
Bereavement counselling for vulnerable children works well in groups because:
Many children can be reached at the same time.
Children realise that they are not the only ones who have lost parents.
This helps to eliminate feelings of self pity, survivor guilt and blame.
Children make friends and develop individual safety nets with other children.
Children learn and share coping skills from each other.
Children gain life skills, such as communication, trust and relationship-building.
Children are more comfortable to share their problems and challenges with their peers
who are in a similar situation.
Who should conduct bereavement counselling and where?
Trained counsellors are better placed to conduct bereavement counselling because this requires
specialised skills. Counselling bereaved children requires sensitive and delicate handling, especially
in communities where deaths are frequent. Counselling should be conducted where children feel
most comfortable and safe.
Counselling should ensure that the child achieves the following:
Accepts the reality of the loss
Deals with intense feelings
Adjusts to the environment in which the deceased
is missing
Emotionally relocates the deceased and moves
on with life.
Participants who conduct home visits to bereaved children,
should have referral information (through the CCC) about
counselling services in their community, if they feel they cannot
offer counselling to a child themselves.
Activity 5
Bereavement is the emotional reaction felt after the death of a loved one.
Timely support to bereaved children helps break the cycle of trauma. Support should
be provided just before and after the death of a loved one. This will help to avoid
complicated and extended grieving. During bereavement counselling, each child may
respond differently. It is therefore important to accept and acknowledge each child’s
experience as unique.Guide to Mobilising and Strengthening Community-Led Care for Orphans and Vulnerable Children Unit 2, Module 2^193