Helping Children Cope with the Death of a Parent: A Guide for the First Year

(Hardback)

Available Formats

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

The mourning of a parent's death can take many yearsfor some it may take a lifetime. The first year of separation, however, is often the most difficult and heart wrenching. The first birthday, holiday, spring, summer, autumn, and winter spent without the loved one often revives or increases the pain. This unique guide is organized according to a timeline of a child's first year of mourning the loss of a parent. It is a warm, insightful, yet practical guide to help the families and community members surrounding a child who has suffered such a loss to anticipate and cope with the many difficulties that arise. Practical suggestions for providing comfort, information, and advice are provided for adults struggling to help children endure the trauma. A range of difficult situations that bereaved children encounter are identified, helping to prepare adults for a child's potential reactions and providing them with realistic coping strategies. Lewis and Lippman, child psychologists who have provided therapy to children who have lost a parent, suggest answers to questions that these children frequently ask. They offer methods for dealing with particularly difficult times such as birthdays, and share practical advice for everyday situations and events. They begin with helping the child through anticipation of death, if it is expected, or through the initial shock of unexpected death. Poignant vignettes from the therapists' experience dealing with young and older children are included.

Reviews

"A must read for teachers, guidance counselors, coaches and anyone else in the teaching profession because it is an essential and long-overdue guide. So many times we wonder how we should try to help or what we should say to young people facing this difficult situation. With help from Drs. Lewis and Lippman, this unsure path becomes clear."-Donna Pellar, Vice President and Past President Maine Township School Board, District 207
"It is an extraordinarily useful book: beautifully written, vivid, detailed and touching. I came close to tears several times while reading it. As sad as the subject can be, I always felt that I was in the hands of two experienced clinicians who really know what they are talking about."-Michael Thompson, Ph.D., coauthor of Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys
"This insightful guide fills a void in the psychological literature. Anyone who knows a child whose parent is dying or has recently died, will send the surviving relatives racing for this invaluable contribution.... With lucid, clear, no-nonsense prose the authors navigate the psychological landscape of that inversion of nature in which a child is left behind by a parent who unexpectedly dies."-Donald M. Schwartz, Ph.D.
"This is a beautiful, moving, and important book which will be invaluable for families helping children deal with the death of a parent. The authors write on the basis of many years working with children and bereavement and provide a book which is both carefully prepared and genuinely helpful."-Bertram J. Cohler, William Rainey Harper Professor The University of Chicago
Comprehensive academic collections, all levels; professional and general collections.-Choice
"Comprehensive academic collections, all levels; professional and general collections."-Choice

Author Bio

PADDY GREENWALL LEWIS is a clinical psychologist in private practice. Having spent 10 years as Chief Psychologist at the Siegel Institute at Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center, she is now in private practice in Chicago and Evanston. With her co-author, psychologist Jessica Lippman, she has organized and run innovative groups for motherless daughters. Lewis and Lippman regularly treat individuals who have lost a parent. Born and raised in South Africa, Lewis came to the United States at age 22 to to work as a counselor for Bruno Bettelheim at the University of Chicago Orthogenic School. JESSICA G. LIPPMAN has been a clinical psychologist in private practice for 25 years. Based in Chicago, she is an instructor in Clinical Psychology and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University Medical School. She was Chief Psychologist at the Siegel Institute at Michael Reese Hospital and Medical Center for three years. With her co-author, psychologist Lewis, she developed and has run groups for motherless daughters. Lippman and Lewis regularly treat individuals who have lost a parent. Town and Country magazine named Lippman to its list of outstanding psychotherapists in 1988.