S2 #11 Is there such a thing as "Good Grief" following a bereavement with Jane Harris Artwork

Helping Children Smile Again with Amanda Seyderhelm

Whether it's the grief of bereavement, the strain of divorce or the uncertainty of a new home or school, loss and change affect children in countless ways. Teachers and parents frequently find themselves ill-equipped to help children struggling with the difficult feelings that these situations, and others like them, bring. Helping Children Smile Again offers guided support for teachers, health professionals and parents through interviews with experts in the fields of education, healthcare and parenting.

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Helping Children Smile Again with Amanda Seyderhelm

S2 #11 Is there such a thing as "Good Grief" following a bereavement with Jane Harris

May 09, 2022 • AMANDA SEYDERHELM • Season 2 • Episode 11

Can there be anything called ‘good’ grief especially when it follows from the death of a child?

Surely grief is that most abject of conditions in which you are thrown into an endless darkness, where despair overcomes hope, and longing for the loved one lost is a pain beyond endurance? How can this be good?

Jane Harris and Jimmy Edmonds have created THE GOOD GRIEF PROJECT in order to share their experience of grief and to help others to find an active and creative response to the expression of their grief.

Their son Josh died in a road accident in Vietnam in 2011 while he was on a six month tour of the Far East. He was 22.

Some see grief as a passing phase – a moment in which the trauma of loss recedes into time and that the emptiness of one’s heart gradually heals. New events and new memories will, they say, overwrite those of the one we loved and the history that s/he inhabited.

Is that normal?

Is that what we call a good grief?

Or is grief, especially the grief for a child, something more akin to a state of being, changing over time, but a new condition, a new narrative if you like, that we will live with for the rest of our lives.

THE GOOD GRIEF PROJECT is their way of addressing this.

My conversation with Jane Harris explores the project which is based on ideas that flow from the concept of ‘continuing bonds’, of not wanting to cut off from the deceased, but of building a new kind of relationship with your child.

About Jane and Jimmy

Jane is a psychotherapist, bereavement specialist and supervisor with special interest in family relations.

She is responsible for film production, public speaking and delivery of mindfulness and arts based workshops and courses.

Jimmy is a documentary film editor with over 100 credits on various TV productions including BAFTA winning ‘Chosen’ for Channel 4 and his own personal film ‘Breaking the Silence’ for BBC 1.

He’s responsible for film and website production and delivery of photography based courses.

Connect with The Good Grief Project

https://thegoodgriefproject.co.uk/

Facebook: @thegoodgriefproject
Twitter: @goodgriefproj
Instagram: @thegoodgriefproject

Connect with Amanda Seyderhelm

Visit my website to download my free eBook 10 Simple Play Therapy Techniques You Can Use To Help Your Child With Grief, Loss and Change

If you are supporting a bereaved child, or know someone who is, you can purchase my books - Isaac and the Red Jumper (for 4-10 yr olds) and Helping Children Cope with Loss and Change

@TheKidDecoder on Twitter
@amandaseyderhelm on Instagram and LinkedIn

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"The Heping Children Smile Again podcast has been massively beneficial in helping me unlock how to open discussions with a child going through bereavement – thank you Amanda!." <-- If that sounds like you, please do rate, review, follow and share my podcast. Your feedback helps shape the content and allows me to support more people battling grief.