Traumatic Grief and Loss: What Children Need

Grieving children often step in and out of their sadness, playing happily one minute and in tears the next. That's healthy. Some children can't do it. Something about the death is too much to process, and they get stuck with intense feelings and upsetting thoughts that don't let up.

A therapist who has worked with hundreds of bereaved children shows you how to tell the two apart. An assessment grid helps you track how often, how badly and for how long warning signs like withdrawal or hopelessness appear. The six-point support plan covers a trusted adult, supervision for staff, close contact with home and holding on to hope for the child.

There's practical advice on talking about death in plain words, without "gone to sleep" or "up in the clouds", and on reaching children who can't or won't talk.