Companioning the Grieving Child

A Soulful Guide for Caregivers

Alan D Wolfelt, Alan Wolfelt

• Publisher: Companion Press
• eBook ISBN:
  9781617221613
• Year: 2012

Renowned author and educator Alan Wolfelt redefines the role of the grief counselor in this guide for caregivers to grieving children. Providing a viable alternative to the limitations of the medical establishment's model for companioning the bereaved, Wolfelt encourages counselors and other caregivers to aspire to a more compassionate philosophy in which the child is the expert of his or her grief—not the counselor or caregiver. The approach outlined in the book argues against treating grief as an illness to be diagnosed and treated but rather for acknowledging it as an event that forever changes a child's worldview. By promoting careful listening and observation, this guide shows caregivers, family members, teachers, and others how to support grieving children and help them grow into healthy adults.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Prologue
• Introduction
• Chapter One: 10 Common Misconceptions about Grief
• Chapter Two: Mourning Styles: What Makes Each Child’s Grief Unique?
• Chapter Three: Sad/Scared/Mad/Tired/Glad: How a Grieving Child Acts, Thinks, and Feels
• Chapter Four: How the Grieving Child Heals: The Six Reconciliation Needs of Mourning
• Chapter Five: Techniques for Counseling Grieving Children
• Chapter Six: A Family Systems Approach to Companioning the Grieving Child
• Chapter Seven: Helping Grieving Children at School
• Chapter Eight: Companioning the Grieving Adolescent
• A Final Word
• My Grief Rights