Adult Programme

The Seasons for Growth adult program builds resilience and promotes the social and emotional wellbeing of adults as they adapt to change, loss and grief in their lives. While the adult program reflects the same underlying theory as the children and young people’s program, it incorporates sound adult learning principles and a wider range of life experiences.

The Seasons for Growth Adult Program consists of two separate components:

  •   Understanding Change, Loss and Grief  (1 x 3 hour seminar session)
  •   Exploring the Seasons of Grief  (8 hours in total – 4 x 2 hour small group workshop sessions)

The Understanding Change, Loss and Grief seminar is designed for use in a wide variety of workplaces and community settings to deepen understandings of the nature and impact of change, loss and grief on the lives of groups or individuals.

The Exploring the Seasons of Grief program creates a safe place for participants to learn together in small groups of 4-7 adults. The program supports participants in learning about the personal impacts of change, loss and grief, whilst developing skills in communication, decision-making and problem-solving.  This helps to restore self confidence and self-esteem.

What Participants say about Seasons for Growth

Seasons for Growth challenged me with aspects of forgiveness and letting go of hatred and anger”

~ Participant, 67″I look at everything in a different way, accept all the changes and deal with them with a positive attitude”

~ Participant, 26″Grieving is like being in a fog: you can’t see much, and you wonder if people can see you. Seasons for Growth helped lift the fog”

~ Participant, 38

Program Outline

The Seasons for Growth Children and Young People’s Program, and Adult Program are small group programs (4-7 participants) delivered over 4-8 sessions. Each participant receives a journal to complete throughout the program. The topics covered in each session of the program include:

  •   Seasons and Change (autumn)
  •   My story and grief reactions (winter)
  •   Feelings and memories (spring)
  •   Choices and moving forward (summer)

As the name ‘Seasons for Growth’ implies, the different seasons of the year provide a rich symbolic framework in which to explore issues of change and loss. Drawing on the wide variation in the seasons, both in Australia and elsewhere, the metaphor speaks to the ‘ups and downs’ of life, reflecting both the competence and vulnerability of children, as well as the unique ways different ‘seasons’ in life are experienced.

The four seasons are each linked to one of J William Worden’s four tasks of grief (3rd edition, 2009).  Worden’s ‘task’ theory was originally developed to help understand bereavement. The Seasons for Growth program adapts these ‘tasks’ to help address other change and loss experiences, too.