It is estimated that, by the age of 16, 1 in 20 children will have experienced the death of one or both parents.
“It’s something that you’re never prepared for,” said Megan, head teacher at Elvetham Heath Primary school in Fleet.
Unsupported grief in childhood can have significant short and long term negative consequences, including a deep and lasting effect on a child’s emotional wellbeing. Through family counselling, one-to-one sessions and group work, we can put in place the appropriate support, based on each child and family’s needs.
“Having the support of Phyllis Tuckwell is such a huge relief,” said Megan. “I can’t imagine not having it.”
“He was a bit like an exploding firework at school,” said one mum of her bereaved son, Liam. “He would run out of the classroom, do things which were quite out of character, and somebody who didn’t know of his bereavement might perceive that as naughty - but his counsellor said to him ‘you’re not bad, you’re sad’, and she was probably the only person who really understood that.”
“It was like me against the world,” explains Liam. “I didn’t really talk to anyone about anything. My answer to everything was anger or frustration. I used to push people away.”
“The work his counsellor did with him, and giving the school advice on what strategies they could try, did massively help. Now he’s much more able to deal with things because he got the help in the early stages, talking to people who really knew how to deal with those situations.”
