Program Teaches Caregivers How to Talk to Kids About Therapy

NORTHAMPTON — The Garden: A Center for Grieving Children and Teens, a program of Cooley Dickinson VNA & Hospice that provides support to grieving young people and their families, announced a free workshop with Sarah Abel, LICSW. This workshop, titled “How to Talk to Kids About Therapy,” will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 9 from 6 to 7:30 pm at the Cooley Dickinson VNA & Hospice offices at 168 Industrial Dr.

Geared toward adult caregivers, the purpose of the workshop is to provide an understanding of child therapy and to prepare parents, caregivers, and teachers to talk about therapy with kids. Participants will be able to discuss children’s behaviors and what they reveal about underlying feelings. Participants will also consider when to consult with a therapist around concerns about a child.

Abel has been a psychotherapist since 1994 and aims to help families prepare their children to enter into therapy and face this vulnerable moment for both parents and children. She is a graduate of New York University School of Social Work and the Institute of Child, Adolescent and Family Studies, and completed a post-graduate fellowship in psychoanalysis at the Massachusetts Institute for Psychoanalysis. She has taught child development at Smith College School of Social Work and currently treats children, adolescents, and adults in her private practice in Northampton.

This event is free, and the snow date is Thursday, Feb. 11 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. To RSVP, contact Shelly Bathe Lenn, coordinator at the Garden, at (413) 582-5312.