64. Strategies for Helping Kids Cope with Grief and Loss

Today we're discussing the complexities of helping children cope with grief and loss, including:

• Common grief-related symptoms in children and adults
• How to adjusting therapeutic approaches based on the individual needs of children
• Strategies such as using expressive arts, memory-making activities, and journals
• The importance of patience and self-disclosure by adults and role of family involvement
• Additional resources, including recommended children's books on grief, are mentioned.

Whether you're a therapist or a parent, this episode provides insightful tips and resources for guiding kids through the challenging emotions associated with loss.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Introduction to the Therapist's Guide

00:48 Understanding Grief in Children

02:59 Therapist's Personal Experience with Grief

05:06 Approaching Grief and Loss with Kids

07:48 Common Grief Symptoms Across Ages

12:19 Helping Families Cope with Grief

20:24 Expressive Arts and Memorialization

31:29 Addressing Death and Religion

35:55 Conclusion and Resources

RESOURCES:

• Practical tips and book recommendations for helping kids cope with grief: https://elliementalhealth.com/how-to-help-kids-navigate-through-grief-and-loss/
• Grief Recovery Method blog: https://elliementalhealth.com/understanding-grief-recovery/
• Grief Recovery Method episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7EqdNzwuPgMBbd9OHy3YDM?si=tVn-z4wWSrKFrK7KbwZPkA

Therapist Thrival Guide is a podcast by Ellie Mental Health. The intention is to move therapists beyond surviving and into the realm of THRIVING by covering all the things that graduate school didn't teach you! This mental health podcast is hosted by Miranda Barker, MSW, LICSW. Each episode features a therapist speaking to their areas of expertise, clinical interests, and personal experiences of being a therapist. This podcast will be covering topics like burn-out, self of therapist, cultural considerations, client retention, session structure, advancing clinical skills, innovations in therapy, and balancing professional relationships with our personal lives. Every now and then, we'll even cover the happenings of how therapists are portrayed in pop culture. ⁠⁠Miranda Barker,⁠⁠ MSW, LICSW, has been practicing as a therapist for nearly three years. She previously worked as a child protection investigator, adoption social worker, and case manager. She's new to the therapy game and loves soaking up all of the knowledge from the expert therapists in her life. She's currently the Executive Producer at Ellie Mental Health's in-house creative agency and believes that creativity is an important aspect of mental health care.

Therapist Thrival Guide is one of many creative productions from ⁠Ellie Mental Health⁠. Ellie is a national mental health brand organized around community-based outpatient mental health clinics. It all began with a single office in St. Paul, Minnesota back in 2015, and since then has expanded to over 24 clinics in Minnesota and an explosive number of locations nationwide after franchising our model in 2021. Ellie will be opening over 500 locations in communities nationwide with new clinics opening each week. ⁠⁠⁠⁠#therapy⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠#mentalhealth⁠

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Jordan is a Licensed Professional Counselor, National Certified Counselor, and Grief Recovery Specialist. She has supported people for 10+ years in different treatment settings including inpatient care, school-based counseling, intensive levels of outpatient programming, and private practice. She thrives to guide people to recognize their strengths through honest self-exploration, authenticity, and humor. A passion close to her heart is working with people through life transitions, including grief and loss.