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Help your grieving teenager

Adults don’t know how to grieve, you can bet teens don’t either. Most are completely baffled what it’s all about. And most think “being strong” means denying or pushing away one’s feelings.

The Dougy Center, a foundation for grieving children, has many resources for youth of all ages including teenagers.

Here are links to resources on that website and this one:

Grief Resources for 12-18 year olds (Dougy.org)

Your friend is grieving. How to support them (Dougy.org)

Tips for grieving teens (Dougy.org)

Children, Teens & Suicide Loss eBook from AFSP and Dougy.org. Best book for parents ever!

One really good exercise is to write a Gratitude Letter. Here is an example of one I wrote to Charles. This is a good exercise for teens or adults.

How a 14-year-old Kiernan Gallagher felt after her father’s death by suicide.

How to prepare children to return to school after a suicide loss.

My teen just lost a friend to suicide. How can I help my child?

The most important aspect is listening and sitting with the pain instead of trying to “fix” what can’t be fixed.

Published by

Anne Moss Rogers

I am an emotionally naked mental health speaker, and author of the Book, Diary of a Broken Mind and co-author with Kim O'Brien PhD, LICSW of Emotionally Naked: A Teacher's Guide to Preventing Suicide and Recognizing Students at Risk. I raised two boys, Richard and Charles, and lost my younger son, Charles to addiction and suicide on June 5, 2015. I help people foster a culture of connection to prevent suicide, reduce substance misuse and find life after loss. My motivational mental health keynotes, training and workshop topics include suicide prevention, addiction, mental illness, anxiety, coping strategies/resilience, and grief. As talented and funny as Charles was, letting other people know they matter was his greatest gift. And now the legacy I try and carry forward in my son's memory. Mental Health Speakers Website. Trained in ASIST and trainer for the evidence-based 4-hour training for everyone called safeTALK.

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