Supporting children with traumatic grief: What educators need to know

Following traumatic deaths children may develop Childhood Traumatic Grief (CTG), a condition in which trauma symptoms interfere with adaptive child grieving. Educators have an important role in supporting children who have CTG. Key contributions that educators can make are to (a) recognize CTG symptoms in school settings; (b) refer children for mental health evaluations when appropriate; (c) recognize reminders that trigger trauma symptoms and identify ways to manage these triggers and responses in school settings; (d) support CTG treatments in school by reinforcing children’s use of stress-management strategies; (e) respect confidentiality; (f) recognize the importance of cultural issues in CTG; and (g) maintain good communication with parents and other helping professionals.

The Prevalence of Childhood Traumatic Grief—A Comparison of Violent/Sudden and Expected Loss

The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of childhood traumatic grief (CTG) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms in parentally bereaved children and compare scores between those who had lost a parent to a sudden/violent death and those who had lost a parent to an expected death. Asample of 158 parentally bereaved children ages 7–16 completed the Extended Grief Inventory (EGI); 127 of those also completed the UCLA PTSD Index. A large number of children were experiencing CTG symptoms at moderate and severe levels. There was no significant difference in EGI or UCLA PTSD Index scores between the two types of losses. Findings are discussed in relation to trauma theory, research on parentally bereaved children and implications for practice.