SEASONS
St Monica’s College is offering the Seasons program for assisting adolescents who have experienced the loss of a loved one through death, divorce or separation. The program is guided by a trained adult/companion and involves 10 sessions of approx. 40 mins each session. Seasons is a peer support program for young people who have experienced the loss of a significant person in their lives. This loss and change is essentially because of death or separation and divorce within the family unit.
When we experience the loss of a significant person in our lives, we may look for support and encouragement as we adjust to the loss. The changes in our lives that occur because of this loss challenge us to find ‘inner and outer resources’ to help us to cope and reconcile our lives.
The Seasons peer support program provides an opportunity for young people to express, acknowledge, normalise and integrate their grief. An adult companion is trained to guide the process. Seasons is based on the concept of the ‘seasons of the year’ as an image, not only of the particular moments in time when grief and loss is experienced in a specific way, but also the changes and movements of grief over time. It is important to note that Seasons is a process of companioning individuals as they seek ways to adjust to the changes in their lives because of the loss they are experiencing. The knowledge, skills and attitudes that are explored and encouraged during the process are based on theories of grief and the skills and intuition of the trained companion. The individual child is supported in the Seasons group as their development continues.