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Children’s grief charity takes program online to provide more support
Freya Lucas
May 22, 2020
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An Australian charity dedicated to supporting grieving children and their families is expanding their offering with an online program which may be of use to those working in the Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) arm of the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector who are supporting children processing grief and loss.
The Healthy Grieving Program is offered by Australian not for profit organisation Feel the Magic® whose purpose is to create a world where children who are experiencing grief are supported to reach their full potential.Feel the Magic® also runs Australia’s largest and leading grief education and support program, Camp Magic®, “a safe place for grieving children to grow.”
By moving to also offer an online learning platform, ongoing support will be offered to families who are in isolated and remote areas, where grief support and counselling is difficult to obtain.
The Healthy Grieving program has been modelled on the Camp Magic initiative, and has been adapted for video conferencing, where children will participate supported by their parent or Guardian. In multiple sessions over a weekend or evening they will form bonds and connections with others, while learning important strategies and skills for improving their emotional health, both individually and as a family.
Like Camp Magic, the Healthy Grieving Program will support Australian children aged between seven and seventeen, with participants placed in groups with their peers to ensure that discussions are age appropriate and focused on the most beneficial outcomes for their stage in life.
Founder and CEO James Thomas said these sessions would be facilitated by trained educators and mental health experts and include access to Feel the Magic’s clinical psychologist for any participants who require extra assistance following the program.
“We know through the success of our Camp Magic program how vital it is for grieving children to have a supportive network of peers, with feelings of isolation through grief common” Mr Thomas said.
“The Healthy Grieving Program will not only allow us to provide support to our families in between camps, but it will allow us to reach countless Australian children who may otherwise find it difficult to attend.”
To learn more about the program, please see here.
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