Chatty Cats: Bereavement Work with Nine to Fifteen Year Olds

Abstract

Bereavement group work provides an opportunity for young people to deal with the responses to their loss and to learn skills that will support them in adjusting to other losses that they may experience throughout their lives. The group uses adolescent acceptable modalities like self-assessment, mentoring, experimenting with coping, including such things as massage, pottery and music. This provides a variety of ways to encourage the expression, and then acceptance, of the complex range of emotions evoked by a significant loss. Group work aims to build resilience and to create positive health outcomes for young people now and into adulthood and perhaps even "generationally" as they become parents.