The Living After Loss guide is a supportive and practical resource designed to help young people navigate grief after the death of a loved one. It provides expert insights, personal experiences from bereaved teens, and practical coping strategies to help young people process emotions, adjust to life after loss, and find ways to remember and honour their loved ones.
What’s Inside?
- Understanding grief – Explains what grief is, why it feels different for everyone, and how emotions can change over time.
- Expert perspectives on grief – Introduces models of grief, such as the ‘Growing Around Grief’ theory and the Dual Process Model, to help young people understand their changing emotions.
- Managing emotions – Offers practical techniques like breathing exercises, journaling, and mindfulness to help young people cope with overwhelming feelings.
- Saying goodbye – Provides ideas for honouring a loved one, including writing letters, creating memory boxes, and holding personal remembrance rituals.
- Life after bereavement – Discusses changes that might occur, such as returning to school, adjusting to a new routine, or dealing with family dynamics.
- Holding on to memories – Encourages young people to find comfort in positive memories and explore ways to keep their loved one’s legacy alive.
- Moving forward with hope – Reassures young people that grief does not mean forgetting, and that it is possible to heal while carrying memories with them.
How Can the Resource Be Used Practically?
- Self-reflection and personal growth – Young people can use the guide at their own pace, choosing the sections most relevant to them.
- Support for families and carers – Parents, carers, and professionals can use the guide to better understand what young people experience after a loss and how to offer the right support.
- School and community grief support – Teachers, school counsellors, and youth workers can integrate the guide into bereavement support programs to help students feel less alone.
- Therapeutic use – Therapists and grief counsellors can use the guide’s self-reflection questions, coping strategies, and activities to help young people express their grief in healthy ways.
- Peer and support group discussions – The guide can be used in grief support groups to encourage young people to share experiences and learn from others who have faced similar losses.
This compassionate and practical grief guide reassures young people that there is no “right way” to grieve and provides valuable tools to help them navigate their emotions, find comfort in memories, and move forward with hope.
