Can Children Benefit from Grief Counseling?

Grief therapy for children is a powerful treatment option for little ones who have recently experienced a significant loss.

To support you and your child during this challenging period, we will cover everything you need to know about children's grief and grief counseling. ‍

Different types of grief counseling for children

In helping children cope when a loved one dies, grief therapists will use a range of approaches. Subject your search to what's relevant to what your child would benefit from and their mental health challenges.

Individual counseling

One-on-one is the easiest form of grief support for kids struggling through a loss. In individual therapy, a grief counselor will meet with the child individually, help the child to learn about the grieving process, give the child permission to express and deal with their emotions, and facilitate healing through therapeutic modalities such as cognitive behavioral therapy.

Family therapy

In family therapy, grief therapists will meet with grieving children and the rest of their immediate family. This modality is usually preferable for young children who might not want to meet with a therapist alone.

However, family therapy can also be an effective strategy for older kids. It helps ensure that children receive support as they navigate the journey of grieving, and it teaches their caregivers skills and tools they can use to support the child outside of therapy sessions.

Group therapy

Group therapy is a typical grief service for adults, and while support groups for grieving children are less common, they can be beneficial. Through peer support, grieving children can find friends with whom they can relate in group therapy.

In group therapy sessions, grief therapists will focus on facilitating the group to talk and work through feelings, rather than providing person-to-person, private therapy.

Art therapy

Art therapy is a type of play therapy where the arts are used as a tool for children to express their ideas and emotions. Even in a safe, comfortable environment, some young children may have difficulty telling you what they feel.

In art therapy, grief therapists ask children to make a drawing or some other form of art. They also use the experience as an opportunity to talk to the child and encourage them to express their feelings.

The advantages of grief counseling for kids

The support of grief therapy can be invaluable for children who are unable to come to terms with a loss, benefiting their mental health and assisting in learning to live with a new reality. Here are some of the more significant possible advantages:

Space for feelings to be voiced openly

As a result of their fear of expressing their feelings outright — or for lack of an understanding of how to do so — children can potentially become withdrawn. But for kids, grief counselling is a safe, nurturing place to put words to their pain.

You must go through this process of expressing and processing feelings to heal from a loss.

Grieving counseling puts children in a supportive environment where they find it easier to talk about these emotions.

Understanding grief and loss

The loss of a loved one and the emotions of grief can be challenging for adults to deal with — but it may be especially hard for kids, who may not understand what it means to lose someone.

Those are just some of the reasons a grief therapist's job is to help their young clients understand the concept of grief and loss more clearly to dispel fear and confusion. Therapists can help children process their feelings and learn about death in a safe, supportive environment by educating them about the grieving process.

Developing coping mechanisms

Grief therapists often help the child learn coping skills and techniques they can use to deal with their feelings, including relaxation, journaling, communication (as in talk therapy), and expressive activities.

These are some coping skills that can help children with that process. Many of the coping skills and tools that youth receive in bereavement counseling are skills that they find helpful as they continue to grow and develop both during the remainder of their childhood and well into their adult life. In truth, one of the top reasons people go to therapy is to learn life skills.

Improved communication and relationships

Therapists who specialize in bereavement among children commonly try to teach these young people to express their grief in words. They also facilitate the resolution of the psychological problems that are hampering their relationships with others. In each circumstance, grief therapy can be used to help a child develop close relationships and learn to depend on them for support.

Normal Childhood Reactions and Signs of Grief

When children don’t have the right words to express what they feel — and they often don’t. It can be hard to know whether they’re wrestling with feelings of grief.

Here are a few common symptoms of grief and grief responses in children that may mean your child needs help:

Emotional signs

Losing a loved one can be an emotional roller coaster for young children. Standard emotional reactions that kids can have after a loss are anger/irritability, denial, anxiety, confusion, and emotional numbing.

In the case of emotional numbing, it is worth noting that struggling to express emotions, or appearing to have no emotions at all, might be signs that a child is not dealing with the loss, not signs that the child is dealing with it healthily.

Behavioral changes

Signs of Grieving: An intense sense of grief in a child may manifest in various ways. Some behavioral changes to be aware of include things like a decline in grades, self-harm or other self-destructive behaviors, reckless risk-taking, and violent play.

Physical symptoms

In children and adults, extreme sadness is also capable of causing physical symptoms. Typical physical symptoms of grief include headaches, digestive problems, trouble sleeping (including bad dreams), and appetite changes.

How to help your kids grieve

Even if getting help from a grief therapist, parents and caregivers are very much involved in helping children through the grieving process. Here are some tips to help you help your child through grief:

Encouraging open communication

There are several reasons that children who grieve are sometimes unwilling to articulate their thoughts or feelings.

This is where it helps to communicate openly. The key is to tell your child that their feelings are OK. It will also promote your child's ability to continue discussing how they feel and turn to you for help.

Reassuring safety and love

Children who are old enough to have a friend or family member who isn't expected to grow old may not feel as safe after a close loved one dies, now that they understand what death is, and they know the people they love can die.

Please don't make assumptions about all men; instead, make them feel safe and secure, which will lessen their fear. It's also essential to give your child lots of love and tender loving care during the grieving process.

Maintaining routines

Routines lend order and consistency to a child's environment. When a significant loss rocks a child's world, it's a gift to be able to try to maintain everything else in their life practically normal. You should try to keep as much of your life the same as possible and engage in as many of the activities your child already enjoys.

Allowing expressions of feelings

Your child must be permitted to, and even encouraged to, talk about their feelings while mourning the death of a loved one.

There are no wrong answers, and your child should never be scolded for sharing what they find. Not even if it's something negative, or it makes you uncomfortable. By inviting your child to share their feelings, you relieve them of the burden of processing those emotions, and you create an environment where they can be honest with you about the difficulties they are experiencing.

Finding The Right Grief Therapist for Your Child

Grief therapy can be a great help for kids who are mourning, especially when you find the right grief therapist. You will want to select a counselor with expertise in grief therapy for children — and whose approach and personality are a good match for you and your child.

And make sure your child is part of the decision-making, which may help choose the counselor. This can help your child feel more comfortable when you both finally choose the counselor you will be working with, and it also helps to build trust between you and your child.

If you would like assistance on how to find the best grief therapist for your child, Healthy Families of Albuquerque is here. Healthy Families of Albuquerque will pair you with an in-person grief therapist who fits your child's unique needs and desires.

Get Your Child the Right Grief Counseling Counselor with Healthy Families Albuquerque

Dealing with the loss of a parent, sibling, grandparent, or other loved one is one of the most challenging things that a child can face. Fortunately, grief counseling has been found to make a difference in children’s ability to process their feelings and heal from their loss.