6 Week Bereavement Support Groups

Many of the children who attend the monthly group are invited to take part in a 6 week group specific to their needs.

Children who do not access the monthly group may also take part in the 6 week groups.

A typical group will focus the first hour on a common theme of thought, related to the death of their loved one. One of the activities that children do, is to create a memory box. Children paint, place stickers, or use photos in memory of their loved one. They might paint the box in their person’s favourite colour.  Unfortunately as we get older our memories fade, we like to work with our children to gather their memories and keep them in a special place.

All activities provide plenty of opportunities for the children to express themselves and develop bonds with others. Through interactions with other children and adults, group members learn that they are not alone in their grief.

Volunteer bereavement buddies – Our bereavement buddy volunteers are the heart and soul of Once Upon a Smile. Our volunteers are a multi-skilled group of individuals who give up their free time to assist with fun based activities and various programmes throughout the year to grieving families.

Other Groups Include;

Self-esteem – enable group members to become more confident, more self-assured and to have a more positive image about themselves

Music – helps to take the pressure off being too verbal about the loss. Provides the opportunity to express using musical instruments, song writing and fun music games.

Art Therapy – allows children to express powerful emotions and say more in pictures than they are able to verbalise