Hospital experiences are stressful and can be traumatic.
When a child’s sibling or parent is diagnosed with a traumatic illness each member of the family system is impacted. However, children depend on their parents to help them feel secure. This can be an overwhelming responsibility even as we are struggling to meet the medical challenges of an ill child, an ill spouse or managing one’s own illness. Parent Group meets each Thursday evening; led by a mental health professional, group members:
- Share their story
- Have feelings validated
- Reduce feelings of isolation while cultivating relationships
- Gain support from peers as they feel connected and understood
- Families will organically bond through their common emotional experiences
- Discuss medical concerns and explore options
- Examine resistance around sharing "scary" information with their children
- Develop strategies to discuss medical information with children in an age-appropriate manner
- Help one another figure out how best to parent children through this traumatic experience
- Express and gain understanding of feelings of guilt and anger
- Recognize hypervigilance
- Help their well children to feel safe
- Develop coping skills to encourage resilience and foster empowerment
- Plan for the future
