Healing Hearts: Supporting Children Through Grief and Loss
Grief is something every one of us experiences in our own way. When we lose someone we love, whether expected or sudden, the feelings that follow can be overwhelming, confusing, or hard to put into words. Many people say that you can never truly understand grief until you live through it yourself, and even then, it looks different for everyone.
At Alliance Children, Young People and Families, we recognise how deeply loss can affect children. Their world can change suddenly, and they may not yet have the language, tools, or confidence to express what they’re going through. With this in mind, we have developed a new programme called ‘Healing Hearts’, designed specifically to support children who are navigating grief and loss.
Understanding Complex and Traumatic Losses
Some of the children we work with have experienced particularly complex or traumatic events, such as a long-term illness in the family, a sudden bereavement, or entering the care system due to neglect. These experiences can shape how they feel, how they behave, and how they understand the world around them.
Healing Hearts offers a safe, nurturing space where children can explore these feelings in a way that feels manageable and meaningful for them.
Practical and Symbolic Activities
The heart of the programme centres on activities that help children express emotions in creative, hands-on ways. These activities are both practical and symbolic, helping children to make sense of complicated feelings without needing to find the “right” words.
One example is anger water bombs, which allow children to safely release intense emotions. Another is slime-making, used to show that not every recipe works the same way, just like coping strategies. What brings comfort to one person may not work for another, and that’s completely okay. These moments open natural conversations about resilience, support networks, and recognising what they need as individuals.
Feedback From Children and Parents
We are incredibly grateful for the honest reflections families have shared with us. Their feedback highlights the impact Healing Hearts has had on their experiences of grief and emotional expression.
Parent Feedback
- “Understanding, acknowledgement, sympathetic and helpful.”
- “Susannah has gone above and beyond, fantastic.”
- “Young Person came out talking about how much fun his sessions were.”
- “Help with the passing of grandad and to come to terms with it.”
Young Person Feedback
- “I have really enjoyed doing all the art, and it has really helped.”
- “Talking about feelings, loved making slime and dealing with anger.”
- “It helped me, I liked being with other children.”
- “If you are here, where I was too. A message I would give is not to worry, you can talk about anything. Unlike most places, you get lots of cookies and get to do creative activities. Plus, Susie and Cheryl are amazing at talking things in and making you laugh. So don’t worry.”
Grief is never simple but with support, understanding, and space to explore emotions safely, children can begin to heal in their own way and at their own pace. Through Healing Hearts, our aim is to walk alongside them on that journey, offering tools, compassion, and connection every step of the way.
To find out more about our programme, please email cypfamilies@alliancepsychology.com.
