Research On Trauma, Loss & Grief
"Children express grief in a different way than adults. They tend to
move in and out of intense feelings, rather than sustaining high levels
of one emotion for long periods of time. When adults see a grieving
child playing or laughing, they may mistakenly believe that the child is
"over it". This perception may influence how much grief support a
child receives" (Children's Grief Education Association, 2011).
For this week's Blog assignment I chose Option 1. And that is because about five or six years ago at one of the Head-start Pre-schools I was working at the time, was involved in a research study that involved a year long volunteer study and counseling sessions on Trauma, Loss and Grief for Pre-school children.
The counseling sessions, conducted by a psychologist were strictly on a volunteer basis for children that had recently been involved in any kind of trauma, loss of a loved one, or else experiencing some kind of grief as the result of a trauma or loss. Prior to the start of the start of the counseling sessions at the beginning of the new school year all parents and guardians were sent out surveys and questionnaires to fill out in regards to deciding if they felt there children would benefit from these kind of services.
In my personal and professional opinion I would definitely have to say that this experience was a very positive, and helpful experience for all the children and parents that were involved in this study. And for two families in particular, I really think it helped them deal with two unfortunate and traumatic experiences involving the murders of a young father and a care-giver grandmother. Of course both cases were not connected at all it just happened that two of our children and families were dealing with these unfortunate circumstances and similar times. But after having both the children, and their families attend the sessions, two times a week, for the entire school year there really seemed to be some positive benefits for all the children and families involved.
I was very close to both of these children, as well as their families and I can honestly say that from personal experiences with both these families, this was definitely a positive example of study and research. The kind of research that helped benefit not only the two young children involved, but also their families. Helping them cope with their grieving process, as well as dealing with some extremely difficult and traumatic circumstances.
References: Retrieved from:
http://www.icisf.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=34%3Afamily-recovery-from-terror-grief-and-trauma&catid=31&Itemid=30
http://www.therapeuticresources.com/grief.html
Sylvia, thank you for sharing this experience. I do believe that there are many kinds of research that is beneficial to families and to children. I do think that when there is an opportunity to be part of a study it can be very rewarding for educators both professionally and personally.
ReplyDeleteSylvia,
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful opportunity to be able to witness firsthand the positive effects of research on young children, especially in this particular area. Dealing with trauma, loss, and grief is very difficult and I affirm your shared quote by the Children's Grief Education Association. Children manifest grief in different ways and just because they are playing or acting normal, it doesn’t mean they are over it. Everyone who knew my children complemented me on how well they have adjusted to the loss of their father and were leading a normal life at school. What they didn’t see are these moments when the simplest things would trigger a memory and they would break down. Great post!