How to Support a Grieving Parent?

"For better or for worse, till death do us part."  We are all familiar with these words. When we get married, we expect to grow old together and maybe even get to raise our grandchildren together or enjoy our golden years picking up new hobbies together after a long life of hard work. But what happens when death parts us earlier than expected?

In this episode of the ParentEd podcast, we have Joan Swee, the founder-director of Whispering Hope, share about the topic of grief and loss with our host Aaron Ng. They discuss how grief affects our relationships, how we can choose to find personal healing and how we can better support those who are grieving.

Joan has a unique perspective on grief recovery, having lost her husband, Henry to cancer when she was 35 and left to parent their 2 young sons on her own.

She co-founded a voluntary welfare organisation in Singapore that focused on supporting the bereaved, and served on the management board for 20 years. Apart from being a practising counsellor, she is a certified Life Coach and Grief Recovery Specialist. She founded Whispering Hope Singapore in 2017 with the aim of helping Singaporeans learn to recover from grief and bounce back from life's losses.

If you are experiencing grief and you need to process your emotions with someone, do contact Joan and her team at Whispering Heart. Our team at Focus on the Family Singapore is also here to listen and journey with you and your family. You can find more details on Counselling at www.family.org.sg/counselling

As a response to the mental health needs of families during this season, Focus has curated resources and articles on a microsite, #StrongerwithFamily* (www.family.org.sg/StrongerwithFamily), to supplement and guide parents who desire to support their children and family members in the area of mental health. We hope that it would be a helpful resource in your parenting journey!

* Supported by Musim Mas BlueStar* fund, administered by The Majurity Trust

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Disclaimer: This episode was recorded remotely as we play our part to keep Singapore safe during this season of COVID-19. The audio quality may be slightly affected during the online recording.