About This Lesson
This resource offers practical guidance for school-based mental health professionals on facilitating grief support groups for students who are grieving the recent death of someone important in their lives. While the primary focus is on bereavement related to death, some considerations may also apply to other types of grief.
School-based grief support groups can ensure students receive care in the environment where they spend most of their time, helping them process a death in a safe, structured, and supportive setting. These groups normalize the grief experience, reduce feelings of isolation, and create opportunities for students to connect with peers who understand what they are going through. By teaching healthy coping strategies and fostering resilience, groups can lessen feelings of anxiety and depression while also strengthening emotional regulation and social skills. Importantly, they help reduce the negative impact of grief on learning by improving concentration, attendance, and academic engagement. School-based groups are also highly accessible, remove barriers such as transportation or cost, and they promote a compassionate school culture that demonstrates grief is a natural part of life and no student has to face it alone.
