Trauernde Jugendliche in der Familie

Adolescents grieve differently than either children or adults – and this must be respected.

---

When adolescents lose someone close to them through death, they need very sensitive support that does not leave them alone with all their feelings, thoughts and needs. Such support is not readily available to them in their everyday surroundings. In addition, adolescents may not feel understood by their peers or others in their family. They tend to withdraw; they may not know how to show their grief, even while in desperate need of consolation and comfort. Parents and other important persons often feel helpless, uncertain and overwhelmed by mourning adolescents, making everyday life difficult in addition to the loss already being felt.Stephanie Witt-Loers addresses such conflicts and informs the reader about the most important aspects of mourning processes. In particular she talks about the needs of adolescents and shows how they grieve differently from children or adults and how they need a special type of support. The goal is to develop mutual understanding in the family and make grieving easier for all. She also provides a number of case studies of adolescents and their surroundings, and how thoughts and feelings in the family can develop.