Child Grief Counselling in Burlington
When a child is grieving a death, a divorce, or a loss that's harder to name, they don't grieve in a straight line. They grieve in puddles. Our team offers children's bereavement therapy that meets your child where they are, in words or in play, without rushing anything.
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Kids Grieve Differently. They Grieve in Puddles.
Adult grief tends to look like a long river. A child's grief looks like puddles they step into, then out of. One moment your daughter is sobbing about her grandfather. Twenty minutes later she wants to know what's for dinner and whether she can watch cartoons. This isn't avoidance, and she isn't "over it." Her nervous system can only hold so much at once, so it lets her out of the water to breathe.
That's also why regression shows up. Bedwetting after years of dry nights. Thumb-sucking again. Wanting you to do up her shoes when she could do it last week. When something big happens, a child's system pulls in close. This is normal. It doesn't mean anything is broken.
Loss in childhood isn't always a death, either. A separation. A parent moving out. A move to a new school. A best friend whose family relocated. A pet. A diagnosis that changed what family life looked like. Any of it is real loss, and it deserves real space. Our team is CRPO-registered, so sessions qualify for most extended health benefits.
How Children Understand Loss at Different Ages
A child's age shapes how they make sense of death and loss. Our approach shifts with them.
Ages 6 to 9: Magical Thinking
Younger children often believe something they did or thought caused the loss. They may ask if the person can come back, or where they went. Some carry secret guilt unless a safe adult gently asks. We work through play, drawing, and sandtray at this age, where the feelings can show up safely without needing the right words.
Ages 10 to 13: Concrete and Guilty
At this age kids understand that death is permanent, and that's when harder feelings land. Guilt shows up ("I wasn't nice enough"). Anger shows up too, often at the person who's gone, which can feel confusing to them. We use a blend of talk, creative work, and age-appropriate coping strategies that give them something to do with all of it.
Ages 14 to 17: Existential and Identity
Teens start asking the big questions. Why this person. Why now. What does this mean for who I am without them. Loss at this age often reshapes identity. We work mostly through conversation, with room for creative approaches when words feel like too much. Teens need a space that's theirs, and we honour that.
How Our Team Works With Grieving Children
A child's therapy session shouldn't look like a small adult's. With younger children, most of the work happens through play, sandtray, and art. They tell us what happened through the story they build with the figures, not through a timeline of facts. A boy might line up soldiers after his father's sudden death. A girl might bury and re-bury a small figure in the sand for weeks. These aren't random acts. They're how a child's mind processes something too big for words.
With older children and teens, we use a mix of conversation, creative work, and evidence-based approaches like narrative therapy and cognitive behavioural techniques that meet them where they are. Some teens draw. Some write. Some just talk. We follow what helps.
Most children meet with us weekly for a season, with regular parent check-ins so you're never out of the loop. If anxiety is riding alongside this loss, our children's anxiety therapy page may also help, and our broader children's therapy hub lays out how we work with kids across concerns.
You Are Grieving Too, and That Matters
If your child lost a grandparent, you lost a parent. If your child lost a sibling, you lost a child. If your child is grieving a divorce, you are living inside that same ending. And somehow, in all of that, you are also trying to be the steady adult for them.
We say this gently: you don't have to hide your tears to protect them. A child who sees a parent cry and then recover learns that big feelings are survivable. You are allowed to not have the right words. Your therapist will give you specific language during parent check-ins, for the questions your child is asking and the ones they haven't asked yet.
If you'd like your own support alongside your child's, our adult grief counselling page is a good place to start. Parents often find that their own session makes them a steadier presence at home.
When Grief Needs More Than Therapy Alone
Grief in children is not a disorder. It's a response to loss. Most kids, given time and a steady adult or two, find their way through. Therapy supports that, but sometimes more is needed.
We'll suggest looping in a physician or paediatric assessment when we see:
- Sleep, appetite, or school functioning disrupted for more than a couple of months
- Any talk of self-harm, not wanting to be here, or wanting to join the person who died
- A complete shutdown of play, connection, or activities they used to love
- Grief that intensifies rather than eases over six to twelve months
If your child shares something that raises a safety concern, we're required by Ontario law to act. We'll always loop you in first unless doing so wouldn't be safe. This is part of keeping your child well cared for, and we'll be transparent about it from the start.
Session Fees
Children's Therapy
$170-$185
50 minutes
HST included. Insurance receipts provided.
Most extended health plans cover sessions with a registered psychotherapist. Parent consultations are billed at the same rate.
Common Questions from Parents
Looking for faith-integrated support? Our page on Christian grief counselling for children holds both tears and hope, at your child's pace.
Your Child Doesn't Have to Carry This Alone
A free 15-minute consultation gives you a chance to ask questions and see if our team is the right fit for your family. Parents come first. You'll know what to expect before your child ever walks in.
Book a Free Consultation