The Grief Game is for children and adolescents who have experienced bereavement and is particularly useful for those struggling to come to terms with their loss. Intended for group work, it may also be played with individuals and can be used to facilitate intra-familial communication when played with families. The game can help to remove some of the taboo surrounding death and can help children to realise that other children � and adults � experience similar reactions. It can be played over several consecutive sessions or tailored to the pace of the treatment. The game comprises a game board, counters, dice and four sets of colour-coded cards arranged in categories corresponding to coloured shapes on the board: Facts, Thoughts, Wishes and Dreams, Memories and Emotions.

Lifegames is a series of therapeutic board games for children and adolescents, devised to facilitate the understanding and disclosure of the complex feelings experienced by children and adolescents when they are confronted with traumatic life events.

Each game has been carefully developed utilising an integrative psychotherapy model which incorporates systemic, cognitive�behavioural, humanistic and psychodynamic orientations. The games address factual issues and focus on emotional expression, belief systems, cognitive processes, behavioural responses, relationships, fantasies, memories and dreams. They provide a safe, boundaried space where children and adolescents may explore their inner feelings, and can be used to answer questions which children may have been afraid to ask.

Designed to be flexible, the games can be tailored towards the pace of the therapeutic process. They may be used with groups and with individuals and they should always be played with a therapist. The recommended age range for participants is 6 - 16 years, although it is possible for the clinician to adapt games for working with younger or older children. Where appropriate, the therapist may participate as a co-player or remain solely in the role of facilitator.