Services for Children
We want you to know that you are not alone with your loss, and that we here to support you in the best way we can. We recognise that all grief is an individual journey and we tailor our support to meet individual needs.
We offer:
Edward’s Trust offers a holistic bereavement care service to children and young people following the death of a parent, carer or sibling in Birmingham and the West Midlands. Through this unique support, young lives that have been devastated by death are rebuilt and nurtured to ensure they reach their full potential.
Edward’s Trust offers a range of support for bereaved children including one to one counselling, art therapy, attending support groups at our bereavement centre, accessing social activities with other children surviving bereavement and support at school. The outreach work undertaken in schools makes the service accessible to children who, for family or social reasons, would find it difficult to come to our centre. We organise a range of social and therapeutic activities and groups for bereaved children. Without the right kind of support bereaved children and young people are vulnerable to long term difficulties which can impact on them physically as well as psychologically.
We provide:
- Counselling
- Play Therapy
- Therapeutic Activities
- Peer Support Groups
- Remembrance Service
- Social Activities
- Pre-bereavement Support
Services for Children
Bereavement counselling
1-1 counselling with children involves all sorts of interactive and creative ways to explore grief and loss including memory jars, art work, writing letters and all sorts of other ways that help children process their feelings in a way that works for them.
Projects & Activities
Sometimes we run projects and activities and even competitions with the children in Edward’s Trust. During Covid we remotely baked cakes together and had a sunflower growing competition
Pre-bereavement support and counselling
Pre-bereavement support and counselling can help children cope with their experiences of having someone in their life be close to death with a terminal illness.
Play therapy
Play Therapy helps children understand muddled feelings and upsetting events that they haven’t had the chance to sort out properly. Rather than having to explain what is troubling them, as adult therapy usually expects, children use play to communicate at their own level and at their own pace, without feeling interrogated or threatened.
For more on Play Therapy see our Play Therapy page
Social activities and outings
Sometimes being bereaved can feel a lonely place to be and children need to know that they are not alone and that there are others who have been through or are going through similar experiences. Sometimes Edward’s Trust organises social events for children or family social events and outings.
Signposting for useful books or websites to read
Children deal with grief in a different way to adults. We sometimes talk about this as puddle jumping. You can find out more about this in this animation video from Child Bereavement UK
Personal Stories
Here is what some people say about our work
I met Sue and instantly trusted her. I could talk to her about anything, we had lots of fun at our sessions. Sue really helped me with my anxiety.
I have found Edward’s Trust very helpful and talking to Sue has helped me in many ways. I feel safe with Sue. I would tell any of my friends who are sad or lose someone very special to go to Edward’s Trust.
My daughter has become so much more confident and outgoing. She is sleeping better and although still occasionally has outbursts, seems less anxious and much happier. I am so grateful, thank you.
Play Therapy has really helped our daughter. She is so much calmer and will talk about how she feels more easily. I have noticed a massive difference in her.
