Research Identity: Offering Grief Counseling After Witnessing Trauma

This essay presents a research plan addressing the need for grief and traumatic loss counseling for children who have witnessed a murder. The proposal focuses on offering a counseling group to help children heal from trauma within three months, addressing issues such as extreme anger, isolation, and signs of depression. The essay supports the use of peer group counseling and the involvement of mothers as crucial figures in the healing process, referencing literature that highlights the effectiveness of age-mate counseling and the importance of female figures in addressing trauma, especially when male figures may be perceived negatively. The conclusion recommends offering peer counseling groups composed of children aged 5-15 and involving mothers to support the community in overcoming the trauma.

Running head: IDENTIFYING RESEARCH 1
Mental Health
Name
Institution

IDENTIFYNG RESEARCH 2
Title:
Research identity on the group to offer traumatic loss and grief counseling for children
who witness an open murder
Introduction:
From the survey carried out by the agency, the community needed to be addressed on
grief and traumatic loss. A proposed research plan is therefore developed. The program we have
is to offer a group to help us in counseling the young children who underwent trauma. The
children traumatic experience has reached the community elevating from the survey.
Presenting issue
The objective of the proposal is to help the children heal from the trauma within
three months by offering a counseling group to them. It has been noted that the children show
extreme anger after what they saw from the attack. Some have stayed in isolation and do not
want to interact with any friends, worse enough any family members (Hays & Browning, 2017).
Most of these children are aged 5 to 15, and such a terror event is unfolding before their eyes
must have caused severe traumatic issues.
The behavior recorded recently show signs of depression and stress due to
bereavement. This calls for offering a group composed of children and mothers. Our interest is
the children since they have never undergone grief before
Children and motherly counseling group counseling for the children
The best group for the children who underwent these traumatic experiences proves
to be group counseling since;
When they are with their peer age mates, it is easier to open up to their mates than
anyone else. When they open up an expert can now pick up the situation

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It is also more accessible to narrate creative events to peers. They would, therefore,
recount these events to the group and the group describes back even creative scary events. This
acts as a sign of purging emotions hence they would feel relieved especially after the narration.
(Alisic, Groot, Snetselaar, Stroeken & van de Putte, 2017).
The mothers in the group will be of importance. The mother figure is always viewed
in the mind of the children as a rescue. They should provide the perfect rescuer for their single
situation.
The female characters were picked since the terrorist were men. The children now
view men as monsters. Bringing a man would be adding salt to injury and making them even
more depressed. The female will offer the alternative other that might not be present at that
moment (Alisic, Krishna, Groot & Frederick, 2015).
Literature supports group of children undergoing trauma and bereavement loss. Some
literature that supports the ideas include;
The purpose of using age mates as the best counselors is supported by MJ Sankar in his
article effect of peer counseling published in 2014. He emphasizes children for children
counseling.
The idea of using mothers, as male figures can at times look like monsters are supported
by SE Kennedy in his book parental counseling. Emphasizing the use of mothers for use extreme
depressions (Freedy, 2017).
Conclusion
It is therefore easy to recommend that peer counseling group, age-mates of the affected
children between the ages of 5- 15 years, of mixed gender. Be offered to the children as a way of

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helping the community get out of the stalemate. Mothers could also play an important role when
offered to the target population.

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References
Alisic, E., Groot, A., Snetselaar, H., Stroeken, T., & van de Putte, E. (2017). Children bereaved
by fatal intimate partner violence: A population-based study into demographics, family
characteristics and homicide exposure. PLoS one, 12(10), e0183466.
Alisic, E., Krishna, R. N., Groot, A., & Frederick, J. W. (2015). Children’s mental health and
well-being after parental intimate partner homicide: A systematic review. Clinical child
and family psychology review, 18(4), 328-345.
Freedy, J. (2017). 9 Understanding Trauma and Grief Complications. Understanding Child and
Adolescent Grief: Supporting Loss and Facilitating Growth.
Hays, M. B., & Browning, S. W. (2017). Clinical Work With Families of
Homicide. Contemporary Families at the Nexus of Research and Practice, 184.