07/18/2025
𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽𝘀 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 with Deanna Ramirez, MSW, LSW
💚💚🌱💚💚
𝗪𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘀𝗼 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗳𝘂𝗹?
Grief in particular can be very difficult for children -and most adults- to understand. Grief is often misunderstood. Some people believe that in order to move forward from grief, you have to complete the stages of grief. This is untrue, grief is not linear.
Grief in itself is a transformative experience.
Your life is changed. And although losing a loved one is difficult, you learn to cope. Children in these groups will learn that to ‘get over grief’ is an unrealistic expectation, and instead we manage it. Each phase of life we go through will bring up the memories.
Holidays and birthdays too. Youth in these groups will come to understand that this is normal.
During grief, it is okay for you to tell people what you need. If you need a hug or to talk; tell the person. People won’t always know the right thing to say, especially if they themselves have not experienced grief. Someone experiencing grief would be much easier to support if it were something that people could visibly see. But some of us are good at masking our emotions, covering great pain on the inside.
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝘆?
Group therapy for students allows them to see and understand that they are not alone with their feelings. Students have an opportunity to build relationships with others who are experiencing similar feelings. They can often feel the weight on their shoulders, as though their experience is unique and no one would understand. This could not be further from the truth. In fact, another group member may be experiencing either the same situation or something quite similar.
The issue that students have is: maybe this person who shares the same experience is not a part of the same social group. Then the question becomes ‘𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑑𝑜 𝑤𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑠𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠?’
One way to do it is to have group therapy. Students who attend group therapy will know that what they share in group therapy will remain confidential.
By doing so, this protects the privacy of the students who share their experience. Together, students gain knowledge on how to cope with their experiences and identify underlying feelings they may have had. Students gain validation, empowerment, and support through the group.
[from our Newsletter: www.newleafresources.org/Newsletter_3_2025_1.pdf ]
