Death, dying and bereavement cause all sorts of emotions and feelings and it can be a confusing time. Most importantly, it’s okay to cry, laugh, be happy, be angry; and everything in-between. Sandy Bear are here to help understand some of those feelings when you are grieving for someone close to you who has died.
The Sandy Bear team help you to understand the circumstances around the death, to understand the different feelings that you might experience; and to look at different tools and resources that will help you to build positive memories of your special person.
We hope that in time, you are able to understand bereavement better, and that this helps you build happy memories, growth in confidence and self-resilience, and not be held back from going on to do amazing things in the future.
We have activities, books and lots of time to help you understand how you, your family, friends and others might be feeling and help you to talk to them more easily about how you feel and about your own loss and grief.
Firstly, a Sandy Bear practitioner will spend time with you to understand your story, what has happened and who has died. This can sometimes take more than one meeting and is a really good opportunity to ask any difficult questions (Our practitioners have heard them all, so don’t worry about what or how you say it, we’ll understand) We meet you at your home, school and other places which have safe spaces so you can speak openly and confidentially.
For some Young People, a few sessions with a practitioner is all they need or want. However, we then have the chance to join a peer-support group with other young people of a similar age, who have also suffered a bereavement. Within these sessions there will be time to talk to each other and the Sandy Bear team about feelings, to share memories and to collate those memories in different ways. Our groups run from different settings and are safe places to be yourself.
Once you have spent time with our practitioners, and other young people, we don’t just finish. We are always available to chat over the phone, and in some instances arrange a meeting if you are struggling, and will support you in accessing other services if required.