All children experience many transitions throughout their lives. Starting or leaving school, changing class or teacher, birth of a sibling, break up of the family, loss or bereavement and disruption of friendship groups are all, though just a few, examples of the different transitions or changes children have to manage.
Transitions situations confront us with the experience of loss which produces a range of feelings which most of us are able to cope with through the understanding and support of our friends and families. For some children, the feelings can be overwhelming and affect their ability to cope with day to day situations and may affect other areas of their life. For example, loss of a parent through separation can lead to a child feeling angry at one parent, leading to a change in their behaviour in school, becoming disruptive or withdrawn. A change of school mid-term and loss of friendship group can lead to a child feeling isolated and therefore unable to concentrate. At Puzzle we help children and adults to deal with these experiences by identifying what things of the past can be held onto and used creatively in the present and future.