Bereavement Counselling for Children and Young People

2nd December 2022 / Posted by Family Welfare

Losing a loved one is a profound and life-altering experience. When a child loses a parent, carer or close relative, the impact of that loss is felt throughout their lifetime. Child bereavement counselling supports young people to deal with their thoughts, feelings and emotions around losing someone important. 

Bereavement support throughout the grief cycle

At Family Welfare, our counsellors support children and young people aged 5-19 who have lost a loved one. We help them understand and cope with their grief by focusing on their own health and wellbeing.

There’s no right time to access counselling support. Processing the loss of someone important in your life is a unique and individual process. If you recognise a child or young person you think would benefit from bereavement counselling, they may not be ready to talk right now. When they are, our trained child bereavement and loss counsellors are here to help.

Common feelings of grief and loss

Losing a parent or relative changes the family dynamic and leaves a hole in your life. It’s normal to wonder who will fill this hole and feel sad that the person won’t be there to share the big milestones with you. What will happen at Christmas, on birthdays and how will you cope when Mother’s or Father’s day arrives? These are all normal feelings of grief and loss and no-one should feel guilty about thinking these kind of thoughts. 

Look out for these common signs of grief in young people:

1. Not feeling anything – it’s normal to feel a bit numb in the early stages as you begin to process what’s happened.
2. Shock – you can’t quite believe that this person is no longer in your life.
3. Sadness – feeling teary and depressed, like you’ll never be happy again.
4. Anger – why them? why not me? Losing someone you love is unfair. You might try to blame someone else or the person who has died for making you feel this way.
5. Relief – a common feeling amongst young people who cared for a sick parent and knew they would lose them eventually.
6. Acceptance – knowing that you will have good days and bad days and gradually feeling able to cope with the bad days.

How counselling helps young people cope with grief

In 2021-22, 77% of young people aged 8+ who used our child bereavement and loss counselling service agreed it had improved their situation.

These are just a few of the ways counselling helps young people to manage grief:

• Sharing stories about the person you’ve lost
  Talking about the important role the person had in your life and the activities you enjoyed together in a safe and confidential space.
• Working through blockages to help you move on
  Grief is complicated. Sometimes you get stuck and feel like you can’t move on from your grief and it’s stopping you living your life. Talking about how you feel to a counsellor can help you make progress.   
• Helping you sleep better
  A good sleep pattern is key to recovery and moving through the mourning process. Getting things off your chest by sharing them with your counsellor will clear your mind so you don’t lie awake at night. 
• Learn to take care of yourself
  When you understand your emotions you learn to manage your own wellbeing and feel more able to cope with life’s challenges.

How to refer a child or young person for bereavement counselling

If you know a young person aged between 5 and 19 in the Wigan and Leigh area who is dealing with the loss of a close family member, you can refer them to our free bereavement counselling service. We accept referrals from parents, teachers and other professionals. Referring a child is simple and easy to do via our online form. 

Sessions are flexible to the needs of each child and can be accessed through school, at our counselling offices or at home. We believe no child or young person should have to deal with difficult and challenging situations alone.