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Helping Grieving Children and Adolescents

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Clinical Handbook of Bereavement and Grief Reactions

Part of the book series: Current Clinical Psychiatry ((CCPSY))

Abstract

Parents often feel confused by conflicting advice about how best to support their grieving child, and providers may feel uncertain about how best to guide them. This chapter provides a brief overview of different forms of grief and then reviews evidence for the efficacy of bereavement treatments overall. Three treatment approaches and their demonstrated effects are described in some detail: the Family Bereavement Program (FBP), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT) with traumatic grief components, and Trauma and Grief Component Therapy for Adolescents (TGCT-A). Peer-based grief support groups are discussed and questions that parents might ask before enrolling a child in a group are suggested. Treatment indications and recommendations are summarized, to aid in tailoring treatment to an individual child’s needs. Finally, practical advice is offered about how parents and providers can support bereaved children with empathy and skill.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street, YAW 6900, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Cynthia Moore Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Cynthia Moore Ph.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cynthia Moore Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Massachussetts General Hospital Department of Psychiatry, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Eric Bui

Appendix

Appendix

Family Bereavement Program

  • For program and training information, see https://reachinstitute.asu.edu/programs/family-bereavement

  • Intervention manuals for the child, adolescent, and parent programs are available from the Prevention Research Center, Arizona State University, 900 S. McAllister Ave. Room 205, P.O. Boxes 876,005, Tempe, AZ 85287–6005.

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT) for Childhood Traumatic Grief

Trauma and Grief Component Therapy for Adolescents (TGCT-A)

  • Layne CM, Saltzman WR, Pynoos RS. Component Therapy for Trauma and Grief: Adolescent Version. University of California, Los Angeles; 2002.

  • Contact the authors for training.

National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN)

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Moore, C. (2018). Helping Grieving Children and Adolescents. In: Bui, E. (eds) Clinical Handbook of Bereavement and Grief Reactions . Current Clinical Psychiatry. Humana Press, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65241-2_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65241-2_9

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-65240-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-65241-2

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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