Many children grieve in ways adults may not recognise, and experts say too many families are left to cope alone.
A new project by Curtin University intends to help children and teenagers deal with grief through a free online self-help program designed to be completed in just one hour.
Curtin University Professor Sarah Egan said grief in young people was more common than many people realised.
“Grief can affect children in many ways,” Professor Egan said.
“Often people think it involves sadness and crying, but it is more than that and really varied, young people respond in many different ways.”
She said adults might miss signs such as withdrawal, avoiding social activities, or losing interest in hobbies and sports.
“Avoidance is a common response, for example, avoiding talking about or thinking about the loss, or avoiding social activities or reducing things they used to enjoy doing like sports or hobbies outside of home,” she said.
Professor Egan said grief could also show up as anxiety, anger, numbness, intrusive thoughts, nightmares, trouble concentrating at school, or self-blame.
“Young people also talk about feeling like everything is out of control,” she said.
She added that there was little support specifically designed for grief in young people.
“Youth can see a counsellor or mental health professional, but often they are not specifically trained in grief interventions, so they are unlikely to get specific evidence-based strategies such as cognitive behaviour therapy for grief,” she said.
The project, funded by the Stan Perron Charitable Foundation, is looking for children aged six to 12 and adolescents aged 13 to 18 from anywhere in Australia to test the brief online treatment.
The online program was developed with input from children and adolescents who have experienced loss and is designed to be interactive and engaging for young users. It offers practical strategies based on cognitive behavioural therapy to help them cope with grief and improve their wellbeing.
She said the team had previously developed longer self-help websites, but feedback from families, especially those with younger children, showed time was a major barrier.
“That is why we developed this current study where we have developed together with children and adolescents who have experienced grief a short version of these longer websites that can be completed in one hour,” Professor Egan said.
She said many families do not access help because public service waitlists are long and private services can be too expensive.
“Many families do not access help and then problems can become more severe,” she said.
Professor Egan said grief was not limited to the death of a loved one and could also include parental separation or the death of a pet.
She said the one-hour session was designed as a starting point.
“It is better they access help even in a brief way for one session, than not at all,” she said.
Brian, who has lived experience of bereavement and founded ZaZa’s Legacy, said his family’s loss exposed just how little support exists for grieving families.
“My experience with bereavement came through a sudden and deeply traumatic loss within my family,” he said.
“It completely reshaped our world overnight.”
He said the loss affected every part of family life, changing the way his family communicated and functioned day-to-day while bringing emotional, psychological and practical challenges they were not prepared for.
“It highlighted how little structured support exists for families navigating sudden loss,” he said.
Brian noted grief in children was often misunderstood because it did not always look the way adults expected.
While there were moments of sadness, he said he also saw confusion, behavioural changes, withdrawal and at times what looked like “normality”.
“Children process grief in waves, often revisiting it as they grow and understand more,” he said.
He said grief can also appear as anger, difficulty concentrating or even physical symptoms, which are often mistaken for bad behaviour rather than distress.
When his family sought help, Brian said support was fragmented and hard to access.
“Schools and communities try their best, but many lack the training or resources to respond effectively to bereaved children,” he said.
“There is a significant gap in coordinated, trauma-informed care for families.”
That experience led him to create ZaZa’s Legacy, a community-driven organisation supporting families affected by sudden bereavement through grief support, advocacy, education and prevention initiatives.
Brian said families needed early and ongoing support, including trauma-informed counselling, school-based programs and clearer pathways to help.
“Support should not be time-limited, because grief evolves over time,” he said.
He said online programs like Curtin’s could make support more accessible, particularly for families who may not seek traditional services, but should work alongside human connection and personalised care.
