PD for Professionals Supporting Children After Suicide
Rethinking care and support through a mattering-reinforcing lens so the children in your care can experience genuine care.
You work in the education, counselling, health or grief support sector supporting children and teens. You are passionate about, and good at, the work you do. Increasingly, you want to do more to support the suicide bereaved children and teens you work with, yet you’re unsure what that ‘more’ looks like. You’re doing your absolute best, yet at the end of the day, your best, rarely feels like enough. You care deeply for those in your care, sometimes wondering if you care a little too much.
If you can relate to this, there is another way.
I support huge-hearted caring professionals by offering an alternative lens to supporting children and teens after suicide.
Does this sound like you? (Or others in your team?)
Understanding the role of mattering in care and support
My approach to grief support, mattering-reinforcing care, is based on my research with children. I interviewed children aged 6 to 13 years about their experiences of care and support following the suicide of someone close to them. A key finding of my research was that children only experience care and support in the context of mattering. In other words, behaviours intended to be caring and supportive, are only experienced as caring and supportive, if those behaviours reinforce a sense of mattering. Children need to feel seen, heard and valued, in order to feel supported.
A mattering-reinforcing care approach supports children in a way that:
recognises each child as the expert in their grief and support needs
is based on genuine connection
is activity-based, child-centric, and at their pace
ensures the child feels safe, seen, and heard
is responsive to each child’s unique and fluctuating support needs
allows the child to experience care as a partnership; as something done with them, rather than to them.
This new approach has significant implications for practice across education, health, and social services. My research findings have gone on to inform the development of programmes and approaches, globally, in a range of contexts.
When we flick that switch – adopt a mattering-reinforcing approach to care - two things happen:
1) Work becomes less stressful and more satisfying, with greater confidence in the care being offered (no more guesswork!)
2) Children receive care based on their actual needs, and feel seen, heard, and genuinely supported.
Mattering-reinforcing care is changing how we support grieving children.
“I am on a mission to change the way grieving children are viewed and cared for.”
Recognised as a global authority on children’s postvention and grief support, I invite you to watch my TEDx talk “From Invisibility to Mattering: rethinking care and support for grieving children." Here I share the findings of my PhD research that lead me to develop the approach, mattering-reinforcing care.
Masterclasses & Workshops
All topics are focused on supporting children and young people affected by suicide.
Examples of masterclasses and workshops include:
- An Introduction to Mattering-reinforcing Care: Rethinking What It Means to Support Grieving Children.
- Supporting Children Affected by Suicide, Their Way.
- Hear Me, See Me: What Grieving Children Want the Adults Supporting Them to Know (customised for teachers, counsellors, and specific care contexts).
- Practical, Activity-based Ways of Working with Grieving Children.
- Who’s Caring For You? Staying Well as a Caring Professional Supporting Others After Suicide.
Sessions can be tailored to your team, context and the children you support.
Learn how to support children in ways that they experience as genuinely supportive.
I offer a range of 90-minute masterclasses and half-day workshops. These can be delivered as standalone sessions, integrated into your team development or offsite day, or combined into a full-day experience.
Each masterclass or workshop includes a briefing call to understand your context and needs, and content is tailored accordingly.
Topics
Trusted by
"Just amazing - research, knowledge, practical, passionate, authentic. Thank you Shelley.""Shelley radiated such a 'heart' for the subject matter. I came in with very little knowledge about supporting children and now feel equipped.""Articulate, informative and highly practical. Thank you!""A quality workshop; the information was invaluable; the authentic delivery with passion and no apology was amazing….would definitely encourage others to attend.""All teachers and school counsellors need to attend this. I wish I'd known, what I do now, years ago!""Brilliant. Please present to the Government to help shape policy."