Children’s Grief and Creativity: The Experience of Losing a Sibling

Abstract When children lose one of their siblings, they seek their parents’ emotional support. However, because their parents also feel the loss of one of their children, they cannot provide adequate emotional support for the living ones. Consequently, children have difficulty mourning that loss. Th...

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Main Authors: Marcela Lança de Andrade, Fernanda Kimie Tavares Mishima-Gomes, Valéria Barbieri
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidade de São Francisco 2018-03-01
Series:Psico-USF
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1413-82712018000100025&tlng=en
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author Marcela Lança de Andrade
Fernanda Kimie Tavares Mishima-Gomes
Valéria Barbieri
author_facet Marcela Lança de Andrade
Fernanda Kimie Tavares Mishima-Gomes
Valéria Barbieri
author_sort Marcela Lança de Andrade
collection DOAJ
description Abstract When children lose one of their siblings, they seek their parents’ emotional support. However, because their parents also feel the loss of one of their children, they cannot provide adequate emotional support for the living ones. Consequently, children have difficulty mourning that loss. This study aims to understand the psychodynamics of children who lost a sibling. The research involved three children, two boys at the age of 11 and 12, and a girl at the age of eight. Individual sessions were conducted to apply the House-Tree-Person Test (HTP) and the Fables Test with the children. Family environments were fragile, driving participants to suppress their feelings and develop symptoms such as learning disability, fear of death, psychosomatic symptoms, dependency, and difficulty in the symbolization process. To express their grief, children need to use their creativity, with the aid of an external environment that offers holding. Such setting allows them to express anguish and anxiety, and to resume their emotional development, despite the difficulties.
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spelling doaj.art-7f784bd276f14d7b89b1e855b6ecd45d2022-12-22T04:12:33ZengUniversidade de São FranciscoPsico-USF2175-35632018-03-01231253610.1590/1413-82712018230103Children’s Grief and Creativity: The Experience of Losing a SiblingMarcela Lança de AndradeFernanda Kimie Tavares Mishima-GomesValéria BarbieriAbstract When children lose one of their siblings, they seek their parents’ emotional support. However, because their parents also feel the loss of one of their children, they cannot provide adequate emotional support for the living ones. Consequently, children have difficulty mourning that loss. This study aims to understand the psychodynamics of children who lost a sibling. The research involved three children, two boys at the age of 11 and 12, and a girl at the age of eight. Individual sessions were conducted to apply the House-Tree-Person Test (HTP) and the Fables Test with the children. Family environments were fragile, driving participants to suppress their feelings and develop symptoms such as learning disability, fear of death, psychosomatic symptoms, dependency, and difficulty in the symbolization process. To express their grief, children need to use their creativity, with the aid of an external environment that offers holding. Such setting allows them to express anguish and anxiety, and to resume their emotional development, despite the difficulties.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1413-82712018000100025&tlng=enmourningsiblingscreativity
spellingShingle Marcela Lança de Andrade
Fernanda Kimie Tavares Mishima-Gomes
Valéria Barbieri
Children’s Grief and Creativity: The Experience of Losing a Sibling
Psico-USF
mourning
siblings
creativity
title Children’s Grief and Creativity: The Experience of Losing a Sibling
title_full Children’s Grief and Creativity: The Experience of Losing a Sibling
title_fullStr Children’s Grief and Creativity: The Experience of Losing a Sibling
title_full_unstemmed Children’s Grief and Creativity: The Experience of Losing a Sibling
title_short Children’s Grief and Creativity: The Experience of Losing a Sibling
title_sort children s grief and creativity the experience of losing a sibling
topic mourning
siblings
creativity
url http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1413-82712018000100025&tlng=en
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