Bereavement support groups for school-age children: theory, intervention, and case example.

Children's bereavement support groups can provide useful surrogate support for families when a parent dies, and may contribute new social meaning for this traumatic event. Theories and techniques for intervention in such groups are presented and their application illustrated via a clinical case history. Results indicate that categorization of children's bereavement should be abandoned in favor of conceptualization in terms of prior adaptation processes.