1. Melissa Pigden, Kelsey Bohman, and Kelly Garber December 2, 2014
Raelyn’s Rosebuds: A Sibling Bereavement Group at Rosebud Memorial Hospice Center
Melissa Pigden, Kelsey Bohman, and Kelly Garber
December 2, 2014

2. Purpose
To use arts-based interventions to encourage memory making and foster a sense of self in bereaved siblings of patients at our hospice
Using arts based interventions

3. Need School-aged children are able to understand the finality of death
Children may have misconceptions and a fear of their own death, especially after the passing of their sibling
Responses to death may include:
Displaying a variety of emotions (sadness, anger, guilt, shame, toughness, etc.)
Regression
Distress and resentment (typically due to social isolation)
(Rollins, Bolig, & Mahan, 2005; Walsh, 2012)

4. Social Context
This group is open to families of patients who have passed away under the care of our hospice facility.
Families will not be invited to join the group until six months after the loss.
This group will take place in designated rooms in the town community center.
There will be a simultaneous group in another room to provide an outlet for parents and caregivers.
Groups will start together with a meal and end together with a reflection ritual.
To encourage participation, families will be financially assisted with transportation.

5. Agency Context
This group is made possible by an endowment from the Jackson Family.
Raelyn Jackson was a patient of the hospice whose twin sister had a very difficult time coping with the loss of her sister.
The support from this endowment will cover:
A simple meal each session for participants and their family members
Art supplies for the children’s group
A pillar candle for each family that participates
Transportation vouchers and gas cards.
*Staff facilitators will shift their schedule on nights of group to accommodate and prevent additional salary requirements.

6. Composition Eight to ten participants Two adult facilitators
School-aged siblings ages eight to eleven
Two adult facilitators
One facilitator must be a child life specialist
The other facilitator may be an art therapist, social worker, or additional child life specialist.

7. Structure
The group would meet once per week for six weeks from 6:00pm to approximately 7:30pm.
Optional pizza dinner for participants and parents will be at 5:30pm.
Session will begin with an icebreaker and a free draw with an opportunity to share followed by a creative art based intervention.
To end each session, parents will join their children for a short reflection ritual.
Candle Lighting
Poems or short readings

8. Pre-Group Context This is a closed group
Families must commit to all six sessions and parents/caregivers must commit to staying onsite during group
Participants will not be able to join the group once sessions have started
Pending availability, siblings may attend as many groups as they feel are helpful
Potential participants will receive a letter and screening form in the mail
Participants are accepted on a first come first serve basis with new participants given priority over returning participants.
Participants must be free of any symptoms that would signify the need for more intensive grief therapy

9. Intake Form

10. Session One Raelyn’s Rosebuds!
Therapeutic Goal: To establish a supportive environment and camaraderie between participants
Ice Breaker: Name game with ball
Group Contract and Guidelines: A contract and guidelines for conduct within the group that participants feel will encourage participation, foster camaraderie and create a safe space
Free Draw: Draw what friendship looks like
Main Project: Group banner
Share or Show Work: Share thoughts about banner
Raelyn’s Rosebuds!

11. Session Two Therapeutic Goal: To establish and express a sense of self
Ice Breaker: Question ball
Free Draw and Share: Draw what you think is the best thing about you
Main Project: “About Me” Collage
Share or Show Work: Members will be invited to share their work and any details about themselves that they want the group to know

12. Session Three
Therapeutic Goal: To provide an outlet for memory making and legacy building
Ice Breaker: Object Stories
Free Draw and Share: Draw a memory that you have of your parent, parents, or caregivers
Main Project: Family Memory Boxes
Share and Show Work: Members may show their memory box to the group and, if they chose to, explain any reasoning they have in decorating it in the way they did.

13. Session Four
Therapeutic Goal: To provide an outlet for memory making and legacy building
Ice Breaker: Pass the energy ball
Free Draw and Share: Draw an activity you did with your sibling
Main Project: Family portrait for memory box
Share and Show Work: Participants may show their family portrait artwork and/or artifacts to the group and share any memories associated with them.

14. Session Five Therapeutic Goal: To establish a sense of future thinking
Ice Breaker: Song and dance game
Free Draw and Share: Draw yourself as a grown up
Main Project: Birdhouse wishes
Wish Ceremony and Share: After decorating, participants will be encouraged to share any of their wishes they’d like. At the end, the facilitator will play music and participants will place their wishes in their birdhouses
Group Picture: A group picture will be taken during this session in preparation for the final session activity

15. Session Six
Therapeutic Goal: To reflect on the group’s bonds and memories created while drawing closure
Ice Breaker: Human knot
Free Draw and Share: Draw one thing you want to remember about group
Main Project: Group photo mat signing and message writing
Ending ritual: Paracord activity

16. Conclusion
We hope to support siblings through their grieving process by providing an outlet for self-expression, memory making, and development of sense of self.
We plan to use the presented activities to establish a supportive setting for these participants and provide them with tools, modes of expression, and tangible take-aways to use on their own to further their grief process.
It was our goal to not only process their loss and memorialize their sibling, but also to foster identity development, develop a sense of self, and increase their self esteem.

17. References
Rollins, J., Bolig, R., & Mahan, C. (2005). The child who is dying. In Meeting children's psychosocial needs across the health-care continuum. Austin, Texas: PRO-ED.
Walsh, K. (2012). Loss and grief across the life span: Childhood and adolescence. In Grief and loss: Theories and skills for the helping professions. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.