Helping Children with Grief, Loss and Trauma

In the aftermath of the loss of a life, 39 percent of children have trouble sleeping and 45 percent have difficulty concentrating according to the National Alliance for Grieving Children. Learn how bereavement differs for children from Nick Finnegan Counseling Center (NFCC) child therapist and greif specialist Amy Birchill Lavergne, M.Ed, LMFT-S, LPC-S. More information about NFCC, its counselors and services can be found at FinneganCounseling.org or by calling 713-402-5046.

[@yutsekelman9740]

Thanks so much for sharing. I totally agree with the presenter

[@labdian]

I am a school counselor, and a boy in my school has lost his mother over the weekend. This is a great recap of what to tell the school staff, I'm very grateful to you for putting this information out there.

[@nosisamphalo4095]

Thank you for sharing this. My sister passed on last month (January '19) just when the schools were re-opening. Her passing on was very sudden and it has hit all of us in the family particularly my son who is 7years old. And I've been since called to the school as the teacher noticed lack of interest in my son's school work. This clip helps a lot because most of the signs /symptoms that you talk about here he's been showing 9/10. And I was oblivious to the fact that my son could be grieving the loss of my sister just as everybody else in the family since they were very very close. To add on the symptoms my son also binges on food and when no one is looking he throws up which is really strange for a 7 years old? I think more educational clips like these are needed to help both parents help their children to cope with loss.

[@Beanmachine91]

young adults like me need help to

[@FinneganCounseling]

Beanmachine91 you are right; grief, loss and trauma can be difficult to handle at any age, especially if you're trying to do it by yourself. Please know you don't have to do it alone. That's why counselors are here. If you'd like to give us a call, we can help connect you to someone who can provide some added support. If our team isn't a good fit for any reason, we can help you find someone who is. Just let us know.

[@FinneganCounseling]

Our number is 713-402-5046 or you can find us online at www.FinneganCounseling.org

[@EricEbac22]

+Beanmachine91 Yes, a young adult needs as much help understanding as possible what happens when a loved one (relative or friend) dies suddenly and he/she has never experienced such a tragedy at any point in their life, or if they have, they were too young to remember it. I should know, because I've experienced the death of someone I knew really well (again, relative or friend) at every stage of my life. Perhaps the worst, however, at least in my mind, came in June of 2001, approximately 15 years ago, when I received the news saying that a one-time friend from school had sustained fatal head and upper body injuries in a car crash, and for days afterwards, I had tears running down my face; at one point or another leading up to and again after the funeral, I was suicidal and wanted to end it all. However, I had someone in my corner (my grandmother) who herself has experienced loss of relatives and friends time and time again, so I had someone, as well as my preacher, to confide in when I needed someone to talk to. So, you're not alone

[@mrpapakc]

@EricEbac22 so thankful you were a able to get the help you needed!