Childhood Traumatic Grief Case Study

Childhood traumatic grief, or CTG, is a condition that can occur in children when they lose someone that they were especially close to, and are unable to properly manage and move past their grief because of psychological obstacles that impede the healing process . CTG requires a more intensive, more personal, and more thorough method of treatment than healthy grieving does, which can take more time, money, and mental stamina than a client may require. Because of the effort involved, many cases of CTG are not fully treated or even addressed at all, which can lead to developmental problems for the affected child in the future. How does traumatic grief affect the mental, social, and emotional developmental processes in children age 8 to 18, and how can the methods of treatment for childhood grief be improved to minimize these developmental problems? In order to further my understanding of the effects of childhood grief, I studied CTG, the psychological effects of grief in children, and currently existing treatments for CTG (particularly bibliotherapy). Anthony Mannarino and Judith Cohen add to this information by providing a side-by-side comparison of traumatic and healthy grief, and a list of the
In the article “Resolving Child and Adolescent Traumatic Grief: Creative Techniques and Interventions” (2010), authors Meredith Edgar-Bailey and Victoria E. Kress discuss a myriad of unusual, creative techniques that have successfully been used as coping mechanisms for bereaved children and adolescents. Creative interventions such as drawing, painting, reading, writing, and even acting can assist children and adolescents through grief that has not been overcome using traditional methods