Grief in Young Children
by Wes Bertagnole
November, 2007
At what age is a child capable of grieving? Alan Wolfelt states, “If a child is old enough to love, that child is old enough to grieve” (Cacciatore, 2001). He explains that even a young child can recognize the void that is caused when someone close is missing, regardless of whether they can express themselves verbally. Susan Smith (1999) states that children are often the ‘forgotten mourners.’ Adults too often believe the grief children experience is short in duration and that it steadily declines until it is gone. Smith (1999) says that in reality children’s grief is a process where those feelings and emotions submerge and reemerge with varying degrees of intensity over months and years.
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How to Pick a Mental Health Professional
by Don Benson
January, 2007
More and more people discover the need to consult with a mental health professional (MHP) at some point in their lives. The stigma that kept so many people away from the “shrink’s” office continues to break down as the general public realizes that counseling and psychotherapy are not only for mental illness.
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