Mum and Dad Are Separating

Comprehensive and practical resource to help both children and adults deal with the difficulty of family separation. It is an invaluable program that provides a wealth of information about grief and the changes that many families encounter during family separation, both externally eg moving house, the practicalities of access visits and internally eg the ‘grief cycle’. It is comprised of three elements: 80-page Guidebook for Adults – for parents and relatives of separating families and for therapists. This addresses grief both in adults and in children at different developmental ages and offers strategies for supporting a grieving child through family breakdown, explaining separation to children and building resilience and healthy family relationships post-separation. 24-page Storybook for Children – to help younger children understand separation, grief and the changes that occur during family breakdown. CD-Rom Workbook for Children – printable, practical exercises to help children process their thoughts and feelings about and reactions to separation.

Part 1 is aimed at children aged 5-8,

Part 2 at children aged 9-12; teenagers may also find the exercises helpful. Mum and Dad are Separating is accessible, easy-to-read and specifically designed for family separation. It is based on issues and questions presented during post-separation counselling, and provides the tools and strategies needed to help both children and adults to ‘work through’ separation. 80pp, A4 paperback guidebook with a 24pp storybook and a CD Rom workbook

Ages: 5-12 and teenagers.

Contents:

– Chapter 1 Grief: What does grief look like?, The grief cycle, The 10 stages of grief, Grief and other aspects of daily life, Layers of grief, Goodbye ceremonies.

– Chapter 2 Family adjustments: Eleven common parenting perils, Common reactions of children to separation, Possible signs of difficulty adjusting, Explaining separation to children, The potential long-term effects of separation on both adults and children, Parental guilt.

– Chapter 3 Re-framing Family: Tips for making access changeover times easier, Visits with your child: a summary of points to consider, Ways in which parents can care for themselves through changeover, Role models, Becoming an ‘I’ again: re-establishing your independence, The benefits of post-separation services for a changing family, Interpreting responses: what we learn from children’s diagrams, Parenting together after separation: creating dynamics for a new family, Resilience and building a stronger family.