Issues children typically face after a suicide in their family or community

School Psychologist & Therapist, Maggie Kline, LMFT, shares advice for parents on the most common issues that children face following a suicide in their family or community
Common Issues Kids Face After A Suicide In Their Family Or Community
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Issues children typically face after a suicide in their family or community

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If there’s a suicide of someone the child knows, they definitely will need help with that, and there are several issues that come up. First of all, did the child witness the suicide, or did they just hear about it? If they witnessed it, especially if it involves blood or gore, they’re going to need professional help to get through some of the images. so they don’t have flashbacks and nightmares. If they didn’t witness it, say it was a suicide at school with a child that was in a different grade, or it happened at home, and the children find out about it at school, it’s different. It’s still a shock to the nervous system, when they hear about it. So, you want to ask, when they first heard about it, what their reaction was. What they might have felt, and what they might have thought, what worries they have. And you can begin there by answering their questions, and let them know that it’s tragic, and that it’s really a shame that that person didn’t have someone that they could go to, that they felt safe with, to talk about what was bothering them, and to let them know that you can always come to Mommy or Daddy, or whoever is raising the child that’s safe, and talk about what bothers you inside. Some children, unfortunately, have no one that they can talk to, and to let them know that they can always come to them, so they have a safe place to go.


School Psychologist & Therapist, Maggie Kline, LMFT, shares advice for parents on the most common issues that children face following a suicide in their family or community

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Maggie Kline, LMFT

School Psychologist & Therapist

Maggie Kline has been a marriage, family, and child therapist for almost 30 years, and is a retired school psychologist.  After beginning her professional career as a teacher in 1970, Maggie has continued to garner vast experience with children of all ages from pre-schoolers through teens. She uses Somatic Experiencing (SE) with individuals, couples and families in psychotherapy. She also integrates SE with art, dream work and play when helping youngsters recover from trauma. Maggie is a senior faculty member for the SE Trauma Institute, currently teaching on five continents. She has co-authored two books (listed below) with Peter A. Levine which have been translated into 11 languages,  and has also written "It Won't Hurt Forever", which was published in Mothering  Magazine in 2002.  Most recently, Maggie has originated two seminars for professionals who help traumatized children:  "SE for Kids, A Games-Based Approach" and "Conscious Connections, Providing Reparative Opportunities for Healthy Attachment". She has presented her work in schools and agencies, at conferences, and in mass disaster settings such as the Southeast Asian Tsunami and the Oslo Massacre.

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