Grief Counseling
Children, as well as adults, experience a variety of responses to the death of a loved one. Some grieve for a short period of time without any affect on their daily lives. School, work, family functioning, and relationships with friends remain unchanged. A larger subset of children and their parents experience some sadness, anger, and/or anxiety that results in impairment in their daily functioning. If the cause of the death is violence or another trauma, these children are high risk for PTSD, depression and other emotional problems.
At Child HELP Partnership, we have developed in-depth counseling and therapy approaches for children and families to navigate this treacherous territory. Our extensive experience with the families of 9/11, and, most recently, Hurricane Sandy have made us uniquely qualified to successfully help families recalibrate after a significant death.
Given the diversity of responses to bereavement, CHP offers a continuum-of-care with varying levels of interventions. Some families need to be reminded that their responses are understandable and they have established ways of coping (e.g., spending time with loved ones, attending religious services, exercise). Some families are experiencing low levels of distress and, as a result, benefit from learning new coping skills and spending time with others who are bereaved. Some families are experiencing high levels of distress and, thus, warrant more intensive therapy. CHP works to understand the functioning of each family so we can make the best recommendations along the continuum-of-care.
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