Grief and Loss

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by Crystal Harvey, M.A., Doctoral candidate at the Massachusetts School of Professional Psychology

Experiencing the loss of a loved one can elicit a range of responses in children of all ages. In fact, children's understanding of death and dying changes throughout their development and may influence the way they express their grief. Even very young children (under the age of 3) have reactions to the loss of a loved one. Although they don't have a cognitive understanding of death, they can be very sensitive to the reactions of those around them and may experience distress. As children grow and develop, their understanding of death and dying does as well. For more information on this topic, see The Development of Children's Understanding of Death and Dying.

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Resource Organizations » Grief and Loss

11 listing(s), including 1 with hotlines and 4 offering support groups

In Boston

Good Grief Program

www.bmc.org/pediatrics-goodgrief.htm
1 Boston Medical Center Place
MAT 5
Boston, MA  02118
617-414-4005
The Good Grief Program provides workshops throughout the state for schools, parents and community groups, crisis intervention and development of a crisis protocol to help children develop coping skills around death, dying and loss.
The CIRCLE, a project of The Good Grief Program, provides a comprehensive family bereavement support program after the death of a loved one. The CIRCLE has programs in Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, Hingham and a CIRCLE for families who had a loved one die on Sept. 11th.

In Massachusetts

Samaritans Hope

www.samaritanshope.org/index.php/grief-support.html
Offers support group(s)
Statewide helpline: 877-870-4673
24 hour helpline: 617-247-0220
24 hour helpline: 508-875-4500
Samaritans Hope works with families and friends who have experienced the loss of someone to suicide. They offer various services including SafePlace, which is an open group of caring people who have experienced the loss of a loved one to suicide.
SafePlace is not a professional therapy group; rather it is peer support. The facilitator is a trained Samaritan Befriender who has lost a loved one to suicide. Groups are currently available in Medford, Boston, South Boston, Quincy, Framingham and Worcester. Their website outlines specific times of the various meetings. They also offer Survivor to Survivor support in which trained volunteers, who have lost a loved one to suicide are available to to visit someone individually. Information is available about this service from the Director of Grief Support Services through their helpline or website as well. Finally, they offer a yearly Safeplace Memorial service for suicide survivors to honor those they have lost, which is typically held in January.

Children's Room, Center for Grieving Children & Teenagers, Inc.

www.childrensroom.org
1210 Massachusetts Avenue
Arlington, MA  02476
781-641-4741
781-641-0012
The mission of The Children's Room is to provide a safe and caring place where grieving children, teens, and families can receive peer support and the guidance of trained volunteers. The Children's Room enables these families to express their grief and to adapt to the many changes that accompany the death. We serve children from ages three to eighteen. Children meet with other children their age (such as teen to teen) with similar losses and meet in small groups to encourage sharing and strong connections. While the children are playing, talking and doing crafts together, the adults are meeting on their own with other parents/guardians who have experienced a loss.
Services are provided free of charge, although we invite families to make a voluntary donation. The Children's Room also has a Framingham location at 39 Edwards Street.

Comfort Zone Camp

www.comfortzonecamp.org
4906 Cutshaw Ave., 2d Floor
Richmond, VA  23230
866-488-5679 (MA)
804-377-3430
Comfort Zone Camp is a nonprofit bereavement camp that transforms the lives of children who have experienced the death of a parent, sibling, or primary caregiver. The free camps include confidence building programs and age-based support groups that break the emotional isolation grief often brings. Comfort Zone Camps are offered to children 7-17, and are held year-round in California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Virginia.

Experience Journal

www.experiencejournal.com
Children's Hospital Boston
The Experience Journals are designed to promote the healthy coping of children and their families who must contend with significant physical and emotional illnesses. The Experience Journals are collections of stories, pictures, and personal experiences from families about what it has been like to live with their children's illnesses. They represent the "collective wisdom" of these children and their parents as well as their health care providers.

Generations After, Inc.

www.generationsafterboston.org
Offers support group(s)
67 South Bedford Street, Suite 400W
Burlington, MA  01803
781-229-5816
We are a nonprofit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts whose mission is to preserve the legacy of our parents and grandparents, who were Holocaust Survivors, through outreach, education, social events and interaction with Survivors and their descendants.

Riverside Trauma Center Grief Support For Children

www.riversidetraumacenter.org
225 Highland Ave., Needham
781-915-8366
Riverside Trauma Center is beginning a free group to provide a safe and supportive environment for children who are grieving a death.This weekly group is targeted to children ages 6-9.
(if your child is outside of this range, but you feel they could benefit this group, please feel free to call for more information)
The group will be held at Riverside Community Care’s offices at 255 Highland Ave in Needham, MA on Thursday evenings from 6:30pm-7:45pm beginning in February. .

Second Generation Connections and Resources

secondgenerationconnections.com
Offers support group(s)
508-875-8101
Second Generation Connections and Resources provides a setting for discussion and learning, as well as a location to seek helpful resources. Second Generation Connections and Resources provides an ongoing supportive/educational discussion group for children of Holocaust survivors. Discussion group topics include: sharing, learning and understanding about your family's or relative's experiences, understanding the impact of family experiences on yourself, your personal experiences and your life, learning from historical perspectives, informing and teaching the next generation, dealing with any concerns or needs you may have, and seeking helpful resources and information.

The Samaritans of Merrimack Valley

www.familyserviceinc.com/Samaritans/Overview.html
430 North Canal Street
Lawrence, MA  01840
978-327-6671
The Samaritans set out as a small group of volunteers aiming to reduce the incidence of suicide in the Merrimack Valley by providing “befriending†to individuals who were lonely, depressed and contemplating suicide or self-injury. In 2004, the Samaritans of Merrimack Valley joined Family Service, Inc., which now provides financial and administrative support to the Samaritans. Suicide prevention remains the primary goal of the Samaritans.The Samaritans of Merrimack Valley is also dedicated to supporting individuals who have lost a loved one to suicide. The Samaritans offers individual and group support to survivors to facilitate a healthy grieving process and help individuals come to terms with their loss. Samaritans staff and volunteers provide educational support for schools, businesses, youth and senior centers, civic organizations, faith-based institutions, and volunteer groups. Samaritans provides information to help the audience identify individuals who may be at risk, to educate them so that they can talk with a person at-risk, and to provide resources for those at risk. The Samaritans provide a crisis helpline, survivor services, outreach & education among other services.

Outside Massachusetts

Bereaved Parents of the USA

www.bereavedparentsusa.org
Offers support group(s)
P.O. Box 95
Park Forest, IL  60466
708-748-7866
Bereaved Parents of the USA (BP/USA) is dedicated to offering support, understanding, encouragement and hope to bereaved parents, siblings and grandparents. It provides aid and support for those who are suffering the loss of a child, brother, sister or grandchild. BP/USA educates families about the grief process in all its complexities pertaining to the death of a child at any age and from any cause. The organization provides telephone numbers and email addresses of other bereaved parents, siblings and grandparents who are able to offer support to other more newly bereaved families. Chapters across the country hold monthly chapter meetings where sharing, support and encouragement can be provided. BP/USA produces a National Newsletter and individual chapter newsletters to aid with grief work. It also holds an Annual Gathering where helpful speakers, workshops, sharing sessions and much more will be provided. The BP/USA websites offers articles and other resources on family bereavement.

E-Couch

ecouch.anu.edu.au/welcome
E-couch is a self-help interactive program with modules for depression, generalised anxiety & worry, social anxiety, relationship breakdown, and loss & grief.
It provides evidence-based information and teaches strategies drawn from cognitive, behavioural and interpersonal therapies as well as relaxation and physical activity.

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Additional Sources of Information

Disclaimer: Material on the Project INTERFACE web site is intended as general information. It is not a recommendation for treatment, nor should it be considered medical or mental health advice. Project INTERFACE urges families to discuss all information and questions related to medical or mental health care with a health care professional.