Young people who have lost a parent because of alcoholism need special attention

This article describes a unique psychotherapeutic group for young people who have lost a parent with an alcohol problem. The group was initiated in February 2008 and is a continuous activity at the Danish Counselling and Research Centre for Grieving Children, Teens and Young Adults. The participants in the group are at risk of developing complicated grief, and therefore benefit from an intervention that focuses on the particular experience of losing a parent whom they miss and love while also feeling unsure and let down by that parent. The article sheds light on several conditions that impede the grief process of these young people, for example: contradictory emotions and pronounced feelings of guilt in relation to the deceased parent; difficulties recognizing their own feelings and needs, and difficulties utilizing social networks in handling their grief; doubting their ability to assess reality correctly. In the latter part of the article the authors discuss the therapeutic factors thought to be particularly effective in a group of this nature. These factors revolve around the recognizability and de-privatization that arise in the encounter with peers, but also the realization that they were not to blame for their parents' drinking problem and consequently not to blame for their death. Finally, a therapeutic factor of great importance for this group is the discovery that they can talk out loud about something that has been shameful and kept secret for many years.