Grief Recovery Workshops
K4K continues its Grief Recovery Workshop training for youth leaders.
Tzofim Madrichim (counselors of Israeli Scouts) of Shevet Dakar, took the course in Ma'ale Adumim during the month of November.
Nachum Schnitzer, K4K facilitator, remarked, "The Madrichim took great interest in the subject, seeing how relevant it is to their young scouts. This positive attentiveness resulted in enthusiastic and lively participation throughout the evening". Nachum outlined the main points of how to deal with grieving youth and focus on hands-on practice. Role-playing was an effective method for the madrichim to practice what they were learning.
Yuval, Shevet Dakar leader, reported that the madrichim gained tremendously from the compelling evening.
Grief Recovery Youth Leadership Workshops
KIDS FOR KIDS
is excited about another program which will channel the high energy of youth to foster the emotional recovery of young Israeli victims of terrorism .
Approximately 20% of Israel’s youth aged 6-19 are registered members of one of Israel’s 12 largest and recognized youth movements. The Youth Movements represent the country's entire religious and ideological spectrum. Some of the largest Organizations include: Betar, Ezra, Bnei Akiva, Israel Hebrew Scouts, Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed, and Hashomer Hatzair. These youth attend at least two activities per week and build strong social ties that extend far beyond the confines of formal programming.
The Youth Movement is a ripe environment to reach and assist the huge portion of Israeli youth who, living through a terrorist war, are grieving losses stemming from the violence. Therefore, K4K is launching a Grief Recovery Training program for the Youth Leaders of the various Youth Movements.
The energetic, committed Youth Leaders who devote themselves to the younger children in youth movements undertake serious responsibility and do work that is crying out to be done -on their own terms and at their own initiative. The group leader (Madrich/a) is a big brother/sister, friend, counselor, mentor and confidant.
Scout leader Hagit, 17, tells of important talks with children who shared their anxieties after terrorist knifings in Jerusalem streets. The Madrichim take their responsibilities as role models very seriously, and their Hanichim are equally serious about emulating their devoted big brothers and sisters.
The definition of "grief" or "bereavement" can not only be subjective and varying, but also be extremely vague.
KIDS FOR KIDS has adopted a broad definition of grief from the Grief Recovery Institute* located in the US and Canada. The Grief Recovery Institute* which has developed a widely respected program to assist the bereaved through their natural mourning process and retake an active place in society has trained a K4K team of 16 professional and lay-people to bring this knowledge to Israel youth and their families.
Grief is the conflicting feelings caused by a change or an end in a familiar pattern of behavior. The most common understanding of “those in grief” is individuals who have experienced the death of a loved one (such as a child, parent, or sibling). Using this broader definition of grief, a ‘griever” would include the mourning of other physical and nonphysical losses; i.e. the loss of a friend, neighbor, a body part, limb or health; loss of emotional concepts such as security, trust, freedom of movement, and loss of innocence.
The need for Grief Recovery Training is growing in Israel as terrorist attacks and activities continue and the death toll mounts. As of September 23, 2004, 1007 people have been killed by Palestinian violence and terrorism since September 2000. The impact of those losses is exponential. Each death and each injury affects scores of people beyond the immediate family. It is almost impossible to calculate the number of people whose lives have been painfully and negatively affected by grief.
It is fair to suggest that nearly everyone, adult or child, in Israeli society has been heavily impacted by these losses.
Israel’s National Insurance or governmental social services, over-burdened with multiple crises related tasks, does not have enough resources to educate or counsel the vast numbers of Israeli youth who are suffering emotionally.
The dedicated leaders of Israel’s Youth Movements interact often and intimately with a huge number of the country’s children. The potential healing that can be achieved by the youth leaders has been, until now, a virtually untapped resource.
K4K GRIEF RECOVERY FACILITATORS - This October, sixteen KIDS FOR KIDS adult staff members and volunteers were trained by the Grief Recovery Institute. These graduates are now certified by the Grief Recovery Institute to facilitate Grief Recovery Outreach Workshops (GROW) to assist Youth Leaders in dealing with their own reactions to the losses they have experienced personally and the national events that have affected their lives. (The K4K team will also be qualified to supervise Youth Leaders, counsel individual grievers, and conduct groups.)
Using a planned syllabus, the K4K Grief Recovery Team (GRT) will coordinate and hold GROWs for 30 Youth Leader participants. Each GROW will cover material to help the Youth Leaders have a better understanding of what is helpful and what is not, in dealing with the children in their care. As a direct result, they will be able to talk – and listen – more effectively as the youngsters tell of their reactions to the events that affect their lives. They will have a clearer understanding of the signals that indicate “abnormal or unnormal” eactions to loss.
The curriculum of GROW will be based on two books by the Grief Recovery Institute: The Grief Recovery Handbook and When Children Grieve written by John W. James and Russell Friedman. Mr. James has graciously traveled to Israel to personally conduct the training of the K4K staff.
GRIEF RECOVERY YOUTH LEADERS – Youth Leaders between the ages of 16 and 20 will be eligible to take the Grief Recovery Outreach Workshops. Successfully completing the course will enable a Youth Leader to act appropriately when confronted with grief issues of one of their Hanichim. Though the training will not qualify the Youth Leader as a counselor or therapist, it will, however, enable him/her to identify severe problems in order to bring it to the attention of K4K professionals who can further assist the child. And most importantly, the Youth Leader will know the right things to say, and the wrong things to avoid, and surely learn to lovingly listen.
After graduating the Training course, the Youth Leaders will have K4K Supervisors available to discuss cases, receive guidance, advice, and feedback. This added involvement will provide the Youth Leader with support which will refresh their own spirits in this difficult time. There will be additional advance Grief Recovery workshops available throughout the year for the Youth Leaders.
*Grief Recovery® is a registered trademark of The Grief Recovery Institute.
Their certified personnel use this distinctive mark to announce their association with
The Grief Recovery Institute® and to distinguish themselves from others who help grievers. While the words grief and recovery may be generic, the phrase Grief Recovery® is unique to the principles and actions outlined in The Grief Recovery Handbook and all other literatureand programs affiliated with The Grief Recovery Institute®. Look for Grief Recovery® - it is your assurance of the highest level of training in the area of helping grievers complete the pain caused by significant emotional losses.