Renowned author and educator Alan Wolfelt redefines the role of the grief counselor in this guide for caregivers to grieving children. Providing a viable alternative to the limitations of the medical establishment’s model for companioning the bereaved, Wolfelt encourages counselors and other caregivers to aspire to a more compassionate philosophy in which the child is the expert of his or her grief—not the counselor or caregiver. The approach outlined in the book argues against treating grief as an illness to be diagnosed and treated but rather for acknowledging it as an event that forever changes a child's worldview. By promoting careful listening and observation, this guide shows caregivers, family members, teachers, and others how to support grieving children and help them grow into healthy adults.

Based on Dr. Wolfelt's unique and highly regarded philosophy of "companioning" versus treating mourners, this self-care guide for professional and lay grief caregivers emphasizes the importance of taking good care of oneself as a precursor to taking good care of others. Bereavement care is draining work, and remaining empathetic to the painful struggles of mourners, death, and dying, day in and day out, makes caregivers highly susceptible to burnout. This book demonstrates how caring for oneself first allows one to be a more effective caregiver to others. Through the advice, suggestions, and practices directed specifically to caregiving situations and needs, caregivers will learn not to lose sight of caring for themselves as they care for others.

Renowned author and educator Alan Wolfelt redefines the role of the grief counselor in this guide for caregivers. His new model for "companioning" the bereaved gives a viable alternative to the limitations of the medical establishment, encouraging counselors and other caregivers to aspire to a more compassionate philosophy. This approach argues that grief need no longer be defined, diagnosed, and treated as an illness but rather should be an acknowledgement of an event that forever changes a person's worldview. Through careful listening and observation, the caregiver learns to support mourners and help them help themselves heal.

Based on Alan Wolfelt's six needs of mourning and written to pair with Companioning the Grieving Child, this thorough guide provides hundreds of hands-on activities tailored for grieving children in three age groups: preschool, elementary, and teens. Through the use of readings, games, discussion questions, and arts and crafts, caregivers can help grieving young people acknowledge the reality of the death, embrace the pain of the loss, remember the person who died, develop a new self-identity, search for meaning, and accept support. Sample activities include grief sock puppets, expression bead bracelets, the nurturing game, and writing an autobiographical poem. Activities are presented in an easy-to-follow format, and each has a goal, an objective, a sequential description of the activity, and a list of needed materials.

Partly a counseling model and partly an explanation of true empathy, this handbook explores the ways companionship eases grief. For caretakers who work with grieving people or for friends and family just hoping to stay close, 11 tenets are outlined for mourner-led care. These simple rules call for understanding another person's pain, listening with the heart rather than the head, not filling up every minute with words, respecting confusion and disorder, and relying on curiosity rather than expertise.

This guide for counselors and lay caregivers explores the art of caring for the dying and their families. Based on the tenets first articulated by renowned grief educator Dr. Alan Wolfelt, this respectful and gratifying guide to caregiving includes personal accounts that debunk the myth of the "good death" and teach caregivers to find the transformative potential of every moment in every experience. Written with wit and illustrated throughout with the author's poetry and artwork, it includes advice for comforting patients and their families as well as advice for dealing with the internal stress common to the profession. The guidance provided will help counselors feel affirmed in their abilities to "be with" the dying and support them and their families.

An in-depth guide to the counseling process and establishing a trusting relationship with clients—from a bestselling author and grieving expert Helping people in grief means being an empathetic companion—someone who allows grievers to be experts of their own experiences, who bears witness without judging, who gently encourages the expression of thoughts and feelings. But even if you approach the work with this understanding, how you "are" when you spend time with the griever also has a tremendous influence on your capacity to help. How do you develop a relationship with the griever? How do you show empathy, respect, warmth, and genuineness? Could you improve your listening, paraphrasing, clarifying, perception checking, informing, and other essential helping skills? Whether you are a professional counselor or a lay helper, whether you have years of experience or are new to the work, this guide, based on by Dr. Wolfelt's companioning philosophy, will help you be the most effective grief companion you can be.