Singer tells how grief counsellor helped her after father’s death
SINGER KATHERINE Jenkins has told how a counsellor helped her following the death of her father as she launched Children’s Grief Awareness Week.
The classical singer, 38, wants to raise awareness for bereaved children. She recorded a new song with a choir of bereaved school pupils, aged between five and 11. An online video for the track featuring the Grief Encounter Children’s Choir, is being released today.
Jenkins, whose father died after being diagnosed with lung cancer, said: “When I was 15 and getting over the death of my father, I saw an amazing grief counsellor who helped me process what had happened and helped me understand my feelings. I really don’t think I would be this person today without that help.”
She is a patron of the charity Grief Encounter, which “works with children who’ve lost a parent or a sibling and helps them come out of it the other side”.
“Singing with the Grief Encounter Choir was an afternoon of my life that I’ll never forget,” she added.
Grief Encounter says that every 22 minutes a child in the UK experiences the death of a parent or sibling, equating to one child in every classroom being bereaved before they reach the age of 16.
The choir was set up to provide alternative creative therapy for children who do not feel comfortable with, or are unable to benefit from, traditional counselling.
Shelley Gilbert, founder of Grief Encounter, said: “With those very young children who are not able to express themselves verbally, or even those who are older but not in a position to explain how they feel, we give them alternate therapeutic tools to play, have fun and express themselves through a creative medium such as singing.”