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Children tend to be easily depressed over the death of a loved one. Whether a child has lost a grandparent, sibling, parent, or pet, the loss of a loved one can be overwhelming for their tender emotions. Watching a child grieve can stir up a lot of emotions for caregivers as well. Sometimes, it calls for a little help as ‘Grief counselling’ can help kids find the ways to cope with their distress while also making sense of their loss.

Why Grief Counselling is a necessity?

Some children face difficulty in recovering from grief and experience significant emotional problems and it persists over time. Children experiencing long-term problems after the loss of a loved one report high levels of distress. They may struggle to concentrate in school, exhibit increased behaviour problems, or have difficulty forming healthy relationships. Children struggling to manage their grief tends to be at a greater risk of developing mental health problems like depression, anxiety or an adjustment disorder.

Many a times, children may also experience a sense of guilt regarding a loved one's death. He/she may end up thinking that being mad at someone might have resulted in that person's death. Or, imagine a child believing in the fact that his/her behaviour somehow caused something bad to happen. This is where ‘Grief counselling’ is necessary and can help a child to develop healthier beliefs.

How it actually helps?

Children belonging to any age-group can struggle to process a loss. Quite often, young children have difficulty understanding the concept of death while older children become worried about losing other loved ones. They may be confused about how to express their complex and uncomfortable emotions.

Here are a few things a teacher/school counsellor can do for young students after completing a school counsellor training:

• Listen and validate their feelings
• Aid them in processing complex emotions like anger, sadness, fear and confusion
• Allow them to talk about their experience in a safe environment
• Provide social and emotional support
• Help children learn how to honour their loss
• Extend their support to family members and caregivers willing to help a grieving child
• Assist in adapting to the loss of a loved one
• If necessary, talk to parents and urge them to let their child know that it takes time to feel better after a loved one dies

Types of Grief Counselling

There are several different types of grief counselling for children. It includes:

• Grief groups
• Individual therapy
• Family therapy

Signs that indicates a child needs Professional Help

As a teacher with student counselling techniques, there are some serious and some not-so-serious warning signs that indicate a child needs immediate professional help. Talking to someone about a loss could be helpful in preventing problems that may occur as a consequence of it.

If you see any of the mentioned warning signs after a child suffers a loss, it’s important to begin therapy or counsel the child if these symptoms last more than a couple of weeks.

• Lack of interest in former activities
• Chronic complaints of headaches, stomach-aches or other physical symptoms with no known medical cause
• Increased behavioural problems
• Mood changes
• Decline in school performance
• Increased social isolation
• increasing irritability
• Debilitating fear of death or the loss of another loved one

WARNING: If the child expresses any thoughts or the willingness to harm or kill him/herself, seek help right away. Contact the child’s family, go to the emergency room or call a crisis hotline number.

It should be noted that a child may benefit from counselling at any or during different developmental phases. A pre-schooler who experienced a loss may require counselling as a teen to really process the loss that s/he had faced earlier. S/he may need help grieving that his/her loved one won’t be there for future milestones, like graduation or their wedding day.