Every year in the Netherlands, 6,500 minors lose a parent. That is 18 children a day. Yet time and again we see professionals – with the best of intentions – reach for ineffective comforting strategies that do more harm than good. ‘He’s in heaven’, ‘It will be all right’, ‘You have to be strong now’ – sentences that keep children further away from processing their loss.

In this session, Richard Hattink breaks with the myth that comforting is the core of good grief support. Drawing on 25+ years of experience in pedagogical palliative care and his work with terminally ill parents of young children, he shows why well-meant comfort fails and what does work.

What will you learn?

You gain insight into the loss triangle: the field of forces between impact, coping and support in which every grieving child finds themselves. You learn to apply the KIDS model – an evidence-based approach built on honesty, space and structure. And you discover how to carry out an effective intervention in just 10 minutes that really makes a difference.

This is not a theoretical session. You receive concrete do’s and don’ts, work with case material from practice, and take away interventions you can apply right away. Because children do not need comfort – they need professionals who dare to dose, who are honest, and who do not protect them from reality but help them bear that reality.

This session is for everyone who works with grieving children and families: GPs, social workers, teachers, youth care professionals, funeral directors, and anyone confronted with loss in their professional practice.

Practical information

Speaker: Richard Hattink, founder of KC-ToThePoint

Level: Basic

Format: Interactive presentation with case material

What do you take away?

  • The loss triangle model for quick assessment
  • The 10-minute intervention for immediate use
  • Concrete do’s and don’ts for conversations with grieving children
  • Insight into dosing as a core principle
  • A practical checklist for families with a terminally ill parent
  • Renewed professional confidence in complex grief situations