Off Target Tom and On the Mark Mark, Digital Edition
Suggested Group(s): Middle/Teen
Purpose: To allow the group to express their feelings and experiences related to how people's reactions to the death helped or failed to help
Task/need: Living on the grief spiral, receiving continued support
Activity Setup Ideas:
- Begin the discussion by asking if there were any people who were particularly helpful or hurtful after their family member died
Materials:
- White board or large white paper
- iPad/Video camera through the camera app
Description: Draw two figures. Label one Tom and one Mark (select different names if you wish). Talk about how sometimes people don't know how to react when a person dies. Note that sometimes people say some things that aren't comforting either unintentionally or intentionally after a person dies. Have the group brainstorm about things that they experienced that were either helpful or unhelpful in their grief. Put those that were 'off target' around Tom, and those that were 'on the mark' around Mark.
Digital Addition: After the group discusses their Toms and Marks, film them acting/role playing what a true Off Target Tom and On the Mark Mark would look like.
Continue to discuss the feelings that accompanied the different types of comments.
Activity Wrap Up Ideas:
- To extend this activity, you may want to have the group discuss what advice they would give to someone who wants to support a grieving person based on their experiences
