Whether you are a family member, friend or professional, you can help those you care about through this journey.
How to Help...
When someone we know is hurting, our first instinct is to want to do something to make that person feel “better”.
One of the first ways to be helpful is to accept that there is nothing you can do to lessen their grief, and get comfortable with being uncomfortable in that reality. But you can make the grieving process less isolating and help healing begin. Here are some ways to help:
What to say to someone who is grieving?
View this pdf to learn the best and worst things to say and do to someone in grief.
Clichés to avoid
View a selection of common phrases that inadvertently minimize loss, and have the opposite effect you might expect from your good intentions.
Children express grief differently than adults, and sometimes it may be hard to recognize the signs of their grief.
Their grief may come in short spurts, and it’s important to remember they might not yet have the words to express their emotions. Also, each time they reach a new developmental stage, children and teens grief again. Here are some resources to understand how to support grieving children and teens.
A good place to start
The following downloadable resources may help you understand how to support grieving children and teens:
Talking with a child/student about:
Far too often, children are left alone without information on why bad things happen and don’t know how to feel. Adults may struggle to find ways to explain tragedies and how to support their children.
Download a FREE copy of this book to help lead a discussion when talking to children about tragedies, grief and loss.
|
|
Professional Referral
The Christi Center works with area school districts to identify campuses with students who are grieving, and offers both individual counseling and peer support groups.
For on-site or virtual individual or group children’s services referrals, please call Jocelyn Chamra-Barrera, LCSW at (512) 467-2600 x31.
Please contact us if you have a group question!
Tell a Friend about The Christi Center
To tell a friend about our services and supports, please complete the form below with a personalized introduction in the message. Your friend will receive an email from us that says:
The Christi Center provides free, ongoing grief support to anyone who is adjusting to life after he death of a loved one, regardless of circumstances. We offer 33 peer-based grief support groups a month in Austin and Georgetown, with specialized groups for loss of a child, loss of a spouse, loss to suicide, and loss to crime. We also serve children (ages 5-12) and teens (13-19) and young adults (18+). http://www.christicenter.org
"*" indicates required fields
“The Christi Center has a very caring staff. The first day was the hardest for me, my emotions were at the highest possibly due to the unknown. I was not sure I would even be able to share. I was made to feel at home by everyone around me. After sharing my deepest feelings I actually felt a great relief. It was as though this was what I needed to start my healing journey.”
Anonymous Client
“Grief is expensive. The individual therapy for my family is hundreds every month during this acute phase. My son died only 5 months ago. It is so painful that not only did I lose my son, but I’m also having to pay for his last days in the hospital and for so much therapy dealing with losing him. So having this free, no financial pressure environment gives my family tremendous relief.”
Anonymous Client
For Over 30 Years
We have been providing love, hope, comfort and support
to people of all ages in a warm and welcoming environment.
“The Christi Center was such an important part of our healing—we know we are not alone. All our stories here are different, but we are all here to find our new normal. My family’s journey was not easy and I wouldn’t wish loss on anyone, but it was our journey. We came out stronger on the other side.”
Anonymous Client
