COVID-19: Counseling With Bereaved Parents Loretta Bradley 1 , Bret Hendricks 1 , Nicole Noble 1 , and Tara Fox 2 Abstract In an era with death from COVID-19 increasing daily, this article emphasizes grief and loss issues of which the family counselor should be aware. Specifically, this article focuses on the needs for family counselors to be aware of grief and loss issues expe- rienced by a parent whose child died from COVID-19. Within this article, grief literature is reviewed. Counseling techniques are highlighted and resources for bereaved parents are provided. Keywords bereaved parents, COVID-19, expressive counseling techniques, family counseling, grief, loss This past year (2020) has been a year like none other. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have endured loss and grief from the deaths of loved ones. Death is a difficult, unwanted, and unexpected event (Butler, 2002; Crunk et al., 2017; Dyer & Hagedorn, 2013; Neimeyer & Burke, 2012; Nei- meyer et al., 2010). In describing death, Romanoff (1993) stated, “death is not a unitary phenomenon. It is a complex interaction of emotional, cognitive, spiritual, psychological, and behavioral responses to bereavement” (p. 384). While death is a traumatic event for anyone losing a loved one, it is especially difficult for a parent to lose their child. For a parent, life is forever changed from the moment they learn of their child’s death (Morris et al., 2019). In describing the death of a child, the loss has been described as the most profound loss (Romanoff, 1993), the most devastating loss (Brooten et al., 2012), a loss that can lead to health issues (Espinosa & Evans, 2013), an occurrence asso- ciated with mental health problems (Feigelman et al., 2011), and a life-changing event (Hooghe et al., 2011). Although articles focusing on grief and loss are prevalent in the counsel- ing literature, articles dealing with the loss of a child are sparse. However, articles dealing with the loss of a child from COVID-19 are almost nonexistent. COVID-19 Data With the first case of COVID-19 reported in the United States on January 21, 2020, and the first death on February 6, 2020 (Hauck et al., 2020), death from COVID-19 is a relatively new issue for counselors. However, because of its magnitude and because COVID-19 cases are increasing daily, family counse- lors must be aware of and prepared to provide effective parental counseling on grief and loss from COVID-19. As of this writ- ing, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported more than 75 million cases of COVID-19 worldwide with more than 1.7 million deaths occurring. In terms of the United States, more than 17 million cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed with more than 311,000 deaths (WHO, 2020). Further, COVID-19 is a virus that attacks all ages, including children. The American Academy of Pediatrics (2020) reported that about 1.7 million children have tested positive for COVID-19, and approxi- mately 135 children have died from COVID-19. Grief and Bereavement Although grief and bereavement are terms that are used inter- changeably, they are not the same. Grief is an individual’s subjective emotional response to loss (Worden, 2009), and that grief usually begins the mourning process (Bernstein, 1997; Neimeyer, 2013). Grief is also the psychological response to bereavement composed of feelings, thoughts, and beliefs related to the loss (Crunk et al., 2017). Further, bereavement is the state of having lost someone through death, and it begins the minute the individual learns of the death (Stroebe et al., 2008). Additionally, bereavement involves the adjustment to death and includes the “multidimensional process involving the physical, psychological, sociological, and spiritual domains of the human experience” (Morris et al., 2019, p. 321). Although 1 College of Education, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, USA 2 West College of Education, Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, TX, USA Corresponding Author: Loretta Bradley, College of Education, Texas Tech University, 3002 18th Street, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA. Email: loretta.bradley@ttu.edu The Family Journal: Counseling and Therapy for Couples and Families ª The Author(s) 2021 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/1066480721992510 journals.sagepub.com/home/tfj Article 2021, Vol. 29(3) 292–298