“Good Grief” Program

Bereavement Counselling

The “Good Grief” group is based on the “Seasons for Growth” program. “Seasons for Growth” is a grief and educational program for adults. Originally it was designed to help children and teenagers aged between 6 and 18 years of age. The core element of the program is the promotion of mental health, psychosocial competence and early intervention for people who have experienced significant change or specific loss due to death, family breakdown. The program is based on extensive research, which indicates the link between mental health, success in school and associated behavioural issues. The adult program was extended to include other kinds of losses such as death of a family member, suicide, etc.

It has been developed with the acknowledgement that while death, separation and divorce create similar stressors and comparable responses, the final results of each differ quite drastically. Death is universal, inevitable, final and irreversible. Separation and divorce are not. Each grief experience has unique features or dimensions. Such difference enhances the opportunity for people to learn from others experiences.

The key beliefs, which underpin the “Seasons for Growth” program are:

• That loss and grief are a normal and valuable part of life
• That many different losses occur in one’s lifetime
• That adults, as well as younger people, need to be provided with an opportunity to examine how loss and grief have impacted on their lives
• That adults also need to be provided with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to understand and manage their grief experiences
• That the key to supporting others (e.g. family members) through grief is to be ‘at home’ with our own loss experiences
• That learning about loss and grief can, in itself, be quite liberating
• That adults best learn through experience
• That participating in a group with other caring adults can normalise one’s own experiences
• That the sharing of stories allows us to connect with one another in ways that builds understanding and decrease isolation on

Objectives of the “Good Grief” Program

• Explore the knowledge and skills required to understand and work with loss and grief in their lives
• Understand that it is normal to experience and express a range of emotions connected to loss and grief
• Revise their previous assumptions about key areas of their lives and plan for a more realistic and hope filled future
• Develop a more integrated self-concept and a healthier self-esteem
• Participate in a supportive network of caring peers and adults
• Build effective relationships with their families, friends, co-workers

This course is funded by the Family Support Agency and runs throughout the year in the centre. Each course runs once a week for seven weeks. One to One Counselling is also available upon request, subject to funding.

For more information telephone (065) 6841009 or email info@cioc.ie

Other Services

Good Grief Program

“Solas” Suicide Support

Child Counselling

Johanna Treacy, Psychotherapist