#273 What Grieving Teens Need

Are you wondering how to support your teen through the heart-wrenching experience of grief and loss? In this heartfelt episode, Colleen interviews award-winning writer and podcaster Clarissa Moll, who shares her personal journey of navigating grief after the sudden loss of her husband in 2019. Clarissa, a remarried widow and mother of seven, discusses her two upcoming books, "Hurt, Help, Hope" and "Hope Comes to Stay," which offer essential guidance for teens and younger children dealing with grief. First, she emphasizes the importance of understanding that grief manifests differently for each child, ranging from clinginess to a need for solitude. Second, she highlights the necessity of self-care for parents to ensure they can support their children effectively. Third, Clarissa discusses the significance of maintaining family unity and open communication to prevent the family from splintering after a loss. Fourth, she stresses the value of creating a supportive environment that includes normalizing grief, encouraging resilience, and leveraging trusted adults to provide additional support for grieving teens. Additionally, Clarissa advises moms to be patient with their teens' grief journey and to avoid imposing a timeline on their healing process. She emphasizes that grief can take years to process, and it's crucial for parents to provide a stable, understanding presence without pressuring their teens to "move on" too quickly. This patience and acceptance can help teens feel supported and understood, fostering a healthier, more genuine healing process. Finally, Clarissa advises moms to be patient with their teens' grief journey and to avoid imposing a timeline on their healing process. She emphasizes that grief can take years to process, and it's crucial for parents to provide a stable, understanding presence without pressuring their teens to "move on" too quickly. This patience and acceptance can help teens feel supported and understood, fostering a healthier, more genuine healing process. Follow on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/mollclarissa/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Om Podcasten

Colleen O'Grady, MA. is a speaker, trainer and author of the award-winning and best-selling book Dial Down the Drama: Reduce Conflict and Reconnect with Your Teenage Daughter---A Guide for Mothers Everywhere. Colleen shares her wisdom from twenty-five years of experience as a licensed marriage and family therapist which translates into over 50,000 hours of working with parents and teens. Colleen, known as the parent-teen relationship expert helps you raise the bar of what's possible for the teenage years. Colleen not only knows this professionally she has been a mom in the trenches with her own teenage daughter. You really can improve your relationship with your teen and dial up the joy, peace, and delight at home and work. Every episode is geared to uplift you, give you practical parenting tips that you can apply right away and keep you current on the latest in teen research and trends.