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Mosaic offers bereavement support to children and young people in Dorset...
Mosaic is a child-centred service offering a pathway of support for bereaved children, young people and their families. We offer support pre-bereavement, post bereavement and immediately following a bereavement.

Pre-bereavement

Mosaic offers advice, information and therapy for families affected by terminal illness.

Pre-bereavement therapy can be tailored to meet each family’s needs and may include:

  • Memory Work
  • Helping families to explain the illness to children using age appropriate resources
  • Planning and preparation around the death
  • Emotional support for the family around the child/young person’s needs.

The shock of a life limiting illness will affect all family members.

Early Grief Intervention

Our Early Grief Intervention (EGI) offers support to families when a death has only very recently occurred.

We receive a large number of enquiries in the very early stages of grief from parents and carers wanting advice on how to tell the children, advice for attending funerals and understanding which behaviours are normal after a death.

At this early stage, it is too soon for formal counselling, as there is a natural grief process that children must go through.

Our EGI support includes telephone support, an online group information session, Mosaic bereavement cafes, and one online support session with a counsellor.

The aim of these different methods of support is to normalise the feelings surrounding the grief process and to offer advice to parents and carers for how they can best support their children at a really difficult time.

School based bereavement Cafés

Bereavement cafés in schools offer a compassionate space for young people to navigate the complexities of grief. They provide a supportive environment where individuals can share their experiences and feelings, connect with others who understand their pain, and find solace in the shared journey of loss. Activities like sharing photos and creating memory tokens can help in honoring loved ones and processing emotions. The presence of empathetic adults sharing their own stories can foster trust and comfort.

These cafés play a crucial role in alleviating the sense of isolation that often accompanies bereavement, especially in a school setting where young people might feel alone in their experience. By openly discussing grief and normalizing its many facets, bereavement cafés help young people to cope with their loss and continue to grow in the face of adversity.

Bereavement Cafes

"A bereavement café can take away some of the isolation that a young person can feel when dealing with a death. They often feel like they are the only one to have experienced it. Meeting other young people who have also had someone they love die, can be a huge relief."

Post Bereavement

Mosaic is a child-centred service offering a pathway of support for bereaved children, young people and their families.

Following an assessment with each family, we can offer a wide range of therapeutic support as appropriate. Our team of Mosaic therapists are all experienced and specially trained to gently work through bereavement with children and young people. For young children, much of this work can be craft based using physical materials to explore feelings. For older children and teenagers, our therapists can use a blend of craft therapies and talking through their grief.

We aim to work collaboratively with other statutory and voluntary agencies to provide best practice in accordance with local and national guidelines for the provision of children’s services.

Bereavement therapy may not be suitable for all families who have support in place at difficult times, but if you have any questions about the suitability or the therapy work we are able to provide, please get in touch and speak to one of our team, we would be happy to help.