HARLINGEN — A table with six plastic sand trays sits in the middle of the room while the walls are lined with action figures, cartoon characters, toy cop cars and tiny coffins.
The Children Bereavement Center is different than one might expect a counseling center to look like.
Instead of brown leather couches and shelves filled with academic books, the center is bursting with plush animals, vibrant colors and whimsical décor.
The newly established and only bereavement center dedicated to children in the Valley is aimed at reaching children in the grieving process in unique and artistic ways.
Every room in the CBC is tailored to fit the needs of the children and the family.
Different rooms offer different forms of artistic healing for children and their caregivers.
A music room, a play room, an art room and a sand room all perform specific duties
Originally established in San Antonio more than 20 years ago, the Children Bereavement Center made annual visits to the Valley to provide training for school counselors.
In February, the center found a second home in Harlingen and opened its doors to the families of the Valley.
Region director Corie Olivares said the Valley location started with one group counseling session and six children.
The nonprofit is funded through the Valley Baptist Legacy Foundation and Methodist Healthcare Ministries.
With only four full-time employees, volunteers make up the bulk of the staff.
“When we started we had nothing but a couple of grants and a lot of energy,” Olivares said.
Less than a year later the center has grown to reach more than 200 children in the Valley and counting.
Services are offered to families free of charge.
Olivares said the center will never turn a family away.
During initial appointments, counselors assess the situation and make recommendations on types of counseling that might be best for the child.
For children who have experienced traumatic deaths, individual counseling is recommended.
According to the CBC, there are more than 400,000 children and teens in the Valley and 1,000 of them will face a death of a parent or sibling each year.
The CBC follows Worden’s Tasks of Mourning in addition to artistic activities to give the children something tangible to take home after every counseling session to continue the conversation with their caregivers.
Every group counseling session begins with a family dinner before breaking up into groups based on age.
Parents go with parents, children go with children and teens go with teens.
Olivares said she has found that group counseling and peer counseling has been important in the healing process.
“A lot of the healing happens peer to peer because they learn from each other and they truly have gone through the same thing,” Olivares said.
She said her team spends a lot of time on the phone with families seeking validation in their children’s behaviors following a loss.
“They just need it to be normalized,” Olivares said.
Counselor Joanna Gomez said families that have been at the center longer have become an asset in group counseling.
“Those strong connections that they feel to the other families is very powerful and helps a lot with their healing process,” Gomez said.
For more information to enroll in services call (956) 368-4065
Worden’s Tasks of Mourning
• Task 1: To accept the reality of the loss
• Task 2: To work through the pain of grief
• Task 3: To adjust to an environment in which the deceased is missing
• Task 3: To find an enduring connection with the deceased while embarking on a new life
