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Seventeen-year-old Niamh, a student at St Patrick’s High School in Keady, County Armagh, has recently found solace in creative expression and peer support after losing her mother a few years ago. She describes how engaging in art and open conversations with other young people helped her navigate the complex emotions of grief. Niamh participated in a project involving around 100 teenagers designed to assist young people coping with loss through storytelling and artistic activities. The initiative encourages participants to recognize the signs of grief in themselves and others while providing practical ways to manage these feelings.
Niamh shares that connecting with peers facing similar experiences made a significant difference in how she processed her loss. “Now you can see them around school, and they would know if you’re not okay and come to talk to you, so that has been really nice,” she explains. The workshops, known as Seasons of Life, are facilitated by the Southern Health and Social Care Trust and have been piloted over the past year in schools across counties Armagh and Tyrone. Another participant, Joe, who is in Year 10 and lost his aunt, appreciated the non-judgmental environment the project provided. He said, “I liked that you could talk about your feelings without anybody judging you. I never felt I had to worry about what I was saying, because other people taking part had also lost someone.” He also expressed pride in the collaborative artworks created throughout the sessions.
The project includes meaningful activities such as crafting a “memory tree” where students write the names of their lost loved ones on paper leaves and attach them to a communal tree. Seventeen-year-old Ailicia, who recently lost her grandfather, found this exercise particularly comforting. She reflected, “Putting my grandad’s name up on our tree felt quite comforting, and it gave me a sense of it being a special way to remember him.” Ailicia also emphasized the normality of grief, saying, “One of the big things I’ve taken away from it is that when you lose someone grief is a completely normal way to feel and I felt better talking about it.”
Vice Principal Glennis Doherty highlighted the profound impact the programme has had on pupils’ emotional development. She noted, “It has really helped them understand that just like the seasons of the year, there are times when we all feel happy, confident and there are other times we experience conflict, anxiety and loss.” Glennis added that students gained important skills in resilience and self-expression, which extend beyond the classroom, and she stressed the importance of normalizing help-seeking behavior among young people. Dr Sinead Hannan, Assistant Head of Psychology Services at the Southern Trust, stresses that bereavement among children is a public health concern often overlooked. She states, “In the UK, the parent of a child who are under 18 dies every 22 minutes, and we know from research that 80% of children don’t access psychological intervention whenever they need it.” The Seasons of Life project was initiated to build peer connections and remind children grieving that they are not alone.
As a culminating activity, students collaborated with an artist to produce a large mixed-media collage featuring symbols such as a tree for growth and a heart for support, now displayed prominently in St Patrick’s School near the sensory garden. Ailicia expressed pride in this artwork, saying, “People might say it’s just a picture, but every time I walk past, it makes me very proud, because it’s part of my journey.” The Southern Trust has expressed hopes of expanding the Seasons of Life programme to primary schools, pending available funding, to reach even younger children dealing with loss
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
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