At the annual ADEC (Association of Death Education and Counseling), I spoke with Dr. Tashel Bordere about her work with teens and the effects of homicide on their lives.

In the video below, Tashel shares some of the most important things she has learned during her work with teens and homicide.

Here are some key takeaways from the video:

• Youth are very disenfranchised in terms of not getting a lot of the services they need. This stems from myths and stereotypes that youth don’t have feelings surrounding the multiple losses they have experienced.
• Tashel says one of the main things is to recognize and acknowledge these grief experiences because multiple losses need to be addressed.
• When it comes to helping teens cope with multiple losses, Tashel suggests to offer them a variety of ways to express themselves. Teens are less likely to express themselves through a traditional counselling setting, but they may be more willing to express themselves through art or more creative rituals.
• When dealing with teens are experiencing multiple losses, make sure they understand you’re there for them and try organizing some initial activities that have nothing to do with counselling at first.
• Build trust, find out what these teens need, and then determine what kinds of services you offer that could be useful to them.

For more video interviews, please see the Open To Hope YouTube channel.