Grieving Teens and Their Unique Needs

Grieving Teens Have Unique Needs

Being a teenager is difficult enough.  Add to it the stress of grieving a loss and things can become overwhelming. A bereaved teen has a whole new layer of stress added upon whatever stressors were already present: grades, sports, jobs, friendships, relationships and more.

Developmental Differences in Grief

Because of their developmental phase, teens have a completely different experience from both childhood grief and adult grief. Teens understand much more about the permanence of the loss than do children, but they do not yet possess the coping skills of an adult.

Developmentally, teens are trying to establish their own identity, seeking independence from their parents and identifying more with peers than with family.  Anything that makes teens stand apart from or appear “different” than their peers is something most teens will avoid.  Grief and bereavement are something that can make a teen feel “different”.  For many, a loss in the teen years may represent a first-time grief experience.

Peers May Not Be Able to Help

Strong peer affiliation is an important part of the teen years.  It is normal and expected that teens seek most of their support from peers, yet their own-aged cohort generally has limited experience with grief.  The people teens lean on most and rely on for assistance and guidance, may struggle to offer care to their teen friend due to lack of experience with bereavement themselves. 

The Struggle is Real

So, what can you do? You may know that your teen’s peer group has difficulty supporting him, and you also know your teen has been resistant to talking to you.  Should you get outside help?  Is it really necessary? You may wonder if and when a teen needs extra support to deal with grief. 

It can be a tough call, but when in doubt, we say err on the side of caution.  A qualified and licenses mental health person can assess your teen and let you know if services are needed.

Stay Tuned...

In our next post, we’ll be covering symptoms to be aware of and what you should look for when deciding if your teen needs outside help for grief.  We’ll also share the important red flags that require immediate intervention, and issues for which you shouldn’t wait to get help. 

If you are looking for resources to help grieving teens, 

our newest release is now available.

Scroll down to learn more.

Our clinician's pack is being released first,

with individual units for home use

available if you contact me directly

at compcounseling at sbcglobal dot net.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At a SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICE! NOW!

Go HERE to learn more!

Our Complete Clinician's Combo Set 

is available to provide for any teen

clients experiencing the loss of a mother or father.

See the areas covered below:

PLUS...

Included is the BONUS MANUAL (below), which

gives you alternative, creative ways to use these 

workbooks in groups, to use in paperless settings, etc.

PLUS...

An Exclusive Mini-Workbook

The only thing mini about this workbook is it's size (it folds in half, lengthwise).

This workbook boasts 30 pages of prompts to help kids deal with 

multiple types of losses (from death, break-ups and more).

Find it all HERE!