Loss & change: new directions in death education for adolescents

Abstract

The subject of this paper is Loss & change, a preventive health education school based program. The program has been developed, in conjunction with teachers, by a team of health workers from an Australian community health agency. This program is generalist in nature. It explores the losses adolescents experience within the context of healthy adolescent development. Based on a primary prevention model, it has a strong focus on life, and, as such, is a death education program which is different from those which focus on suicide prevention or bereavement support. The paper serves as an interim report on a program which is still developing, and which may provide some insight into a promising means of support for adolescent development.