Coping With Loss: Teenagers

Due to their maturity, teenagers may question some of the larger issues involved in death, including a family’s religious faith. As is often the case with teenagers, the death of a loved one may fuel the teen’s natural desire for rebellion which may result in the teen deviating from family mourning practices. Though this may cause some concern among family members, it is important for surviving parents to maintain dialog with their teens, encouraging them to express themselves and articulate their emotions, even if this means seeking therapy. Teens tend to be very observant of the world around them and may find themselves connecting their personal experiences with loss with others’ experiences on a local and even global scale. These larger issues will provide the teen with an opportunity to understand death in a more abstract manner; one that may promote long-term resolve, greater understanding about life, and love and reassurance.

If the loss of a loved one appears to drastically change the teen, causing them to act in dramatically uncharacteristic ways, therapy is a positive option for providing the teen with a safe space to unpack their grief. Art therapy, in particular, can be very helpful even for teens who are not artistically inclined.

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