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How to help a grieving teen. The following information was taken and modified from Helping Teens Cope with Death from The Dougy Center, The National Center for Grieving Children and Families. There are six basic principles of teen grief.
- Teens Encounter Grief from A Place That Already Feels Complicated.
- The Grieving Process Is as Individualized as Each Teen.
- Many Teens Want to Grieve with Their Friends.
- Grief Is Not A Linear Process.
- Asking Open and Honest Questions Helps Teens Feel supported.
- It Helps Teens When Parents Normalize Difficult Feelings That Surround Grief.
- Keeping A Person’S Memory Alive Can Help with Grieving.
- Social Media Can Be Both Positive and negative.
- Teens Can Experience PTSD Even If They Weren’T Present When The Death occurred.
“When a teenager starts going through grief, they enter into this death or loss experience with so many different dynamics in play already just from being a teenager,” Drake says. She explains that it can be difficult to determine whether a teen’s behavior occurs because of their grief or because they’re experiencing the stress and hormones that go...
“One quote I love is that everybody’s grief is as different as their fingerprint,” says Drake. “When you’re looking at a family, a sports team, a class of students, they all may have experienced the same death, but everybody’s going to experience it very differently.” It’s helpful for parents to recognize that their teen’s grief will look different...
“The majority of teens we’ve worked with for the last 30, almost 40 years now, talk about how the best way for them to grieve and express themselves is to find a friend, particularly if they are all grieving the same death.” Schuurman said. She notes that the experience can be different when a teen is grieving the loss of a parent or close family m...
“It can feel like in one minute teens are laughing, and half an hour later they’re crying,” Schuurman says. “The process involves spurts of grief and feeling like they don’t have a right to be happy.” Being aware that grief may ebb and flow can help parents provide support in the moment.
Schuurman explains that adults sometimes respond out of fear for their kids and unknowingly shut down conversations. Instead, it can be helpful to ask open-ended, non-judgmental questions. Schuurman says, “You can try something along the lines of, ‘I want to do the right thing, but, honestly, I’m not sure what that is. I don’t want to push you away...
Drake says that parents sometimes feel tempted to offer advice about how teens should grieve. That can lead teens to withdraw. Instead, Drake encourages parents to normalize the range of feelings that come from unexpected loss “Don’t be afraid to shed tears in front of your kids,” says Drake. “You’re modeling a grief response, you’re modeling that ...
Schuurman encourages parents to engage in conversation about the person who died. “It helps to say things like, “Tell me about them.” If you knew the person well, you could share your own memories. Drake says that honoring a person through social media can also help teens manage their grief.
Social media can provide benefits by helping teens feel connected and by offering an escape from the grieving process. It can, however, also make the grieving process more difficult. “Rumors about the death and hateful things being said can be damaging,” Drake says. “Another piece I hear from teens is when people who didn’t know the person post thi...
“Creating visual images in their head of what happened even if they weren’t there and hearing the stories of what happened can actually create a PTSD response,” Drake says. “When you’re seeing traumatic responses that are interfering with normal functioning, know that kind of stress can happen for kids even if they weren’t present.”
Losing a loved one can be especially difficult for teens. Learn how teens deal with loss and thoughtful ways to help grieving teenagers in this guide.
Oct 1, 2022 · There are several effective evidence-based practices designed to help children or teens who are grieving or experiencing trauma and grief. They include: Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy or TF-CBT, tailored to childhood grief and trauma.
Use this page to narrow down our extensive library of free, downloadable resources for teens who are grieving. Filter by topic and type.
Nov 11, 2021 · Teens benefit from having both supportive adults and supportive peers to walk alongside them in their grief. Grief can bring so many emotions and changes into your family’s life. It is important that you remember to take care of yourself.
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