Children, Bereavement and Trauma

Part 1 Working with children: setting the scene - a brief history of Liverpool Children's project, Paul Barnard and Ina Morland; the practice of working with bereaved children, Julie Nagy; disaster - how can schools cope?, Elizabeth Capwell; when children are involved in disasters, Paul Barnard and Ian Morland; using an educational model to foster children's resilience in the context of a bereavement service, Ian Morland; ''human nature'', social theory and methodology, Ian Morland. Part 2 Resources for information and advice: the ''What helped me'' leaflet, Claire, Anne-Marie, Angela, Brian, Michael and Natasha; planning of programmes of work with children, Julie Nagy with Roger Adams; five stages of grief; salient points about children's coping; reading list for children and adults; list of useful organizations; useful Internet websites; summary - our guidelines for good practice.

Children, Bereavement and Trauma: Nurturing Resilience by Paul Barnard, Ian Morland and Julie Nagy argues that children's natural resilience is fundamental to their ability to cope with trauma. Derived from the author's experience of working with bereaved children after the Hillsborough disaster, the book advocates a model of practice which is based on their findings: the importance of listening to children and listening uncritically; the importance of peer group and family support; and the value of paying attention to children's needs, rather than those of adults. The book promotes the idea of healthy coping and explores ways in which children and their families can be helped to do this. Children explain ""what helped me"" and recommendations for practice guidelines are supplemented by extensive lists of resources and support networks. The model can be applied to children who have experienced varying degrees of trauma, from bereavement to bullying or terminal illness.