Group Application
Dealing With Grief
Participants learn tools to understand grief and build healthy coping strategies
Feelings
Learning Objective:
Quickly establish rapport and provide immediate coping strategies for a young person experiencing grief.
Materials
- Pen and small piece of paper
Part 1: Make a Connection
1 minute
- Make eye contact and use a calm, genuine tone
- Acknowledge their presence: “Thanks for taking a few minutes to talk.”
- Brief normalization: “Dealing with loss is really hard, and everyone experiences grief differently.”
- Strength identification: “Before we talk about what you’re going through, tell me one strength you have that’s helped you get through tough times before.”
- Affirm their response: “That’s a powerful strength that can help you now too.”
Part 2: Brief Psychoeducation
1.5 minutes
- Simplified CBT explanation: “When we experience loss, our thoughts about what happened affect how we feel and what we do.”
- Example: “If you think, ‘I’ll never get past this,’ you might feel hopeless and pull away from others, which can make grief harder.”
- Highlight one or two common grief thought patterns they might relate to:
- “Many people have thoughts like, ‘I should be handling this better’ or ‘Nothing will ever be good again.'”
- “These thoughts are normal but can sometimes make grief feel worse.”
Part 3: Introduce the Media Method
Share this simple framework:
“When emotions feel too big, remember this quick tool. It’s called ‘The Media Method’:
Part 4: Quick Practice
1 minute
- “Let’s try something quick. On this paper, write down one thought you’ve had about your loss that might be making things harder.”
- “Now, let’s look at it together and see if we can find a more balanced thought.”
- Guide them to a more balanced perspective (not dismissing feelings but adding perspective)
- Example: Instead of, ‘I’ll never feel okay again,’ maybe ‘Right now I’m really hurting, but I have gotten through hard times before.’
Facilitator Notes:
- Focus on listening more than talking
- Validate feelings without trying to “fix” their grief
- Watch for signs of severe distress that might need more support (shaking, shutting down, shortness of breath)
- End with clear next steps: “Would you like to talk more about this later?” or “Remember you can use PAC anytime.”
- If appropriate, provide information about full grief resources available to them
Related Resources
Quick Connect
Feelings and Emotions
Participants learn the five basic emotions and practice strategies to manage emotions
Feelings, Core Module
Group Application
Feelings and Emotions
Participants learn the five basic emotions and practice strategies to manage emotions
Feelings, Core Module
Group Application
Mindfulness and Deep Breathing
Participants learn mindfulness and practice deep breathing as a coping strategy
Mind-Body Awareness, Core Module