Creative Interventions for Bereaved Children: 1 - Softcover

Liana Lowenstein

Softcover

ISBN 10: 096851992X ISBN 13: 9780968519929

Publisher: Champion Press, 2006

Synopsis

When children enter therapy because they have experienced the death of a family member or close friend, they are at a very vulnerable time in their lives. They are often anxious about the therapeutic process and reluctant to talk directly about painful feelings. Activities that are creative and play-based can engage children and help them to express their thoughts and feelings. This book provides grief counselors with creative interventions to engage, assess, and treat bereaved children and families. A range of innovative activities are presented, including therapeutic games, art, puppets, role-plays, and stories. The first section of this book, which contains guidelines for practitioners, lays the foundation for effective grief counseling with children. Section Two presents a theoretical overview of childhood bereavement and it incorporates some of the latest literature on childhood bereavement. The third section provides material for use with caregivers, including a social history questionnaire to be used as part of the clinical assessment, and a reproducible handout to educate caregivers on the impact of grief on children. Section four offers a variety of engagement and assessment activities providing clinicians with strategies to build therapeutic rapport and assess bereaved children. Sections five through eight presents creative activities to help children express feelings of grief, diffuse traumatic reminders, address self-blame, commemorate the deceased, and learn coping strategies. Special sections have been included to assist children in dealing with specific kinds of loss, namely cancer, suicide, and homicide. In addition to activities for use in individual and family sessions, there is also a ten-week curriculum for use in support groups. The appendix includes a sample letter for the practitioner to give to the child upon termination from therapy, a treatment plan, and a handout on bereaved children to give to school personnel. The interventions in this book have been specially designed to engage children in counseling, and to help them approach their grief within the context of a safe therapeutic environment.

About this title

About the Author

Liana Lowenstein, MSW, is an author, sought-after speaker, and practitioner with over 22 years of specialized work with children, adolescents and families. She provides clinical supervision to mental health practitioners and consults to several mental health agencies. She has a reputation as a dynamic workshop leader and has presented trainings across North America and abroad. She is a Certified Child Psychotherapist-Supervisor and she serves on the board of the Canadian Association for Child and Play Therapy (CACPT). She is founder of Champion Press Publishing Company and has authored or edited numerous publications including the highly-acclaimed books, Paper Dolls & Paper Airplanes: Therapeutic Exercises for Sexually Traumatized Children (with Crisci & Lay, 1997), Creative Interventions for Troubled Children & Youth (1999), More Creative Interventions for Troubled Children & Youth (2002), Creative Interventions for Children of Divorce (2006), and Creative Interventions for Bereaved Children (2006), Assessment and Treatment Activities for Children, Adolescents, and Families: Practitioners Share Their Most Effective Techniques (Volume One published in 2008, Volume Two published in 2010) and Creative Family Therapy Techniques (2010). Her books are known for their innovative and engaging therapeutic techniques for use with children, teens, and families. Her website features a variety of resources for mental health professionals, including a free eBook called, Favorite Therapeutic Activities for Children and Teens: Practitioners Share Their Most Effective Techniques. For more information go to: www.lianalowenstein.com

Edition details

• Publisher: Champion Press
• Publication date: 2006
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 096851992X
• ISBN 13: 9780968519929
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 205