Adolescents and children are often called the "forgotten grievers" since they process and express grief differently from adults. Periods of avoidance and delayed expressions of grief are common. Children may also "cycle rapidly" between despair and playfulness.
This may lead to the conclusion that they are less or not at all affected by the death of, for example, a parent or sibling. And that no particular care is required. But depending on their stage of development, children and adolescents may be affected even more deeply. It is therefore essential to include them in any family ritual, answer their questions in an age-appropriate fashion, and understand their age-dependent expressions of grief which may include physical symptoms. School performance may suffer and there may be periods of anger and acting out.
Compared with adults, children and adolescents have fewer or no opportunities for social support and support in the community. They may prefer to hide their pain because they do not want to be "different" from their peers. Or because they feel that they should be protective of siblings, parents, or other siginificant individuals and therefore must pretend that they are "OK".
Whenever there is a traumatized adolescent or child, the adult environment most likely has become at least temporarily impaired and unavailable in response to the tragedy. Adolescents and children have not yet had time to develop the coping skills most adults can resort to - such as verbalizing needs and feelings and asking for support.
For this reason, Dr. Weide offers both individual and group counseling for adolescents and children. She also sees families facing loss and grief in order to assist with the development of coping skills in the face of death or serious illness. Optimal results are achieved when the young person's immediate family participates in the process.
In addition, Dr. Weide's approach includes guiding parents through separation and divorce to help them minimize the impact on their children.
Please click here to contact Dr. Weide or call (703) 548-3866 in Virginia and
(240) 229-1893 in Maryland for more information.
Offices in Old Town Alexandria, VA 22314, and in Bethesda, MD 20814 (Metro-accessible)
Dr. Weide provides services for the following
communities and zip code areas:
Rockville, Bethesda, Cabin John, Chevy Chase, Colesville, Gaithersburg, Garret Park, Germantown, Glen Echo, Kensington, North Potomac, Silver Spring, Takoma Park, Alexandria, Arlington, Annandale, Belle Haven, Fort Hunt, Chantilly, Frankonia, Great Falls, McLean, Mount Vernon, Reston, Merrifield, Seven Corners, Woodbridge, Falls Church, Fairfax, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, Montgomery County, Washington DC, 22301, 22302, 22303, 22304, 22305, 22306, 22307, 22308, 22309, 22310, 22311, 22312, 22313, 22314, 22315, 22320, 22321, 22331, 22332, 22333, 22334, 22336
