Helping Hearts Heal

Program Description

Adam’s House uses a closed-ended education model. A closed group means that once the group members have been interviewed by our staff and cleared by our specialist partners, they begin the program together and end the program together.

Once a family is offered the option of entering a program, they must commit to attending each week’s meeting of the eight-week program.

A closed-ended model provides the group a sense of security so children feel safe enough to share their grief with their new friends. Parents/guardians meet as a group while the children are meeting. Parents/guardians will learn ways support and converse with their children about their grief. They are instructed about developmental tasks of all ages and how to appropriately model grief for their children.

The peer support educational programs at Adam’s House are not meant to replace specialized therapy for children who have been traumatized by their loss or who have special needs. In this case, our Adam’s House specialist will refer to the family to our one-on-one partner professionals.

Children are placed into age-appropriate groups. Children groups include “Littles”(5-7yrs), “Middles”(8-13 yrs) and “Teens”(13-18 yrs).

Adam’s House may be new to Connecticut but the program has been successfully implemented for more than 20 years by our mentor center, Olivia’s House in York, Pennsylvania. We are forever grateful for their guidance, support and allowing us to bring their wealth of grief wisdom to our “Helping Hearts Heal”program.