COVID Grief: Access to Mental Health & Grief Support Services
Access to Mental Health & Grief Support Services as a Protective Factor:
Each person experiences grief differently and therefore can benefit from a variety of mental health and grief support services. Some children, teens and adults find grief groups, bereavement counselors, and/or online grief support communities to be beneficial in connecting with others who have shared experiences. Grief counselors can provide guidance and expertise in exploring difficult thoughts and feelings while also validating typical grief reactions and practicing new coping strategies as the person grieving learns to live with loss. Mental health therapists can provide a deeper dive through individual, family therapy, and/or process support groups.
COVID’s Impact:
Access to mental health and grief support was already limited prior to the pandemic because of factors such as location, racial disparities, affordability, and stigma. The pandemic further exacerbated inequities – in particular for Black and Latino children having experienced more caregiver and parental loss from COVID-19 than white children.
When everything moved online in response to the pandemic, new limitations presented themselves. Art, music, and play therapy, often central to mental health support for children, were significantly harder to incorporate. Access to reliable computers and internet were also out of reach for many and virtual sessions made it more difficult to have confidential and honest conversations with a mental health professional.
What to Do – suggestions for the bereaved:
- Learn more about the diversity of cultural traditions and values that inform children’s response to death and bereavement. Eluna’s Grief Through the Lens series explores grief responses and traditions among communities of color with expert panelist who specialize in understanding the impact of intergenerational trauma. Visit Grief Through the Lens of Black Communities and Latino Communities to watch and learn.
- Contact Eluna’s Resource Center to find accessible mental health and grief support in your area. Our personalized support is free and offered in both Spanish & English. Please contact/Comuníquese con: Sarah (206) 466-3998 sarahbehm@elunanetwork.org
- Consider Camp Erin – the largest free bereavement program for children and teens in the U.S. and Canada.
- Send an Eluna care package to support a child or teen impacted by grief, addiction, or suicide. Each care package is accompanied by an Eluna Resource Center report with recommended therapeutic activities and resources.
This is one protective factor of a series. For the comprehensive resource click here: COVID Grief: Protective Factors & the Impact of the Pandemic
This resource is made possible through a partnership with the Brave of Heart Fund, founded by the foundations of New York Life and Cigna, and administered by E4E Relief.
