LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1.  Learn to assess the grieving process in the preschool child.

2.  Learn to use children's art in this assessment.

3.  Learn to help families prepare a child for a funeral and its aftermath.

4.  Learn how to help a child transform grief to a sustaining positive.

This program includes the following:

1.  Interviews with experts on early parent loss, commenting and discussing the film, including.

A panel discussion with Froma Walsh, Ph.D., author of "Spiritual Resources in Family Therapy" and Robert Neimeyer, Ph.D., author of "Dying: Facing the Facts."

2.  An interview with the writer/director of the film, Jacques Doillon, who obtained drawings from over 10,000 children between the ages of 3 - 5. Yes, you read that correctly -- that's 10,000 + drawings! He asked them to draw "Death!

3.  An interview with Cathy Malchiodi, LPCC, author of "Understanding Children's Drawings" on the use of children's art in therapy.  Click here to see samples.  This program is based on a movie, Ponette, which unfortunately, is no longer available for sale, but can be rented from Netflix.

4.  A transcription of an interview we've done with Nancy Boyd Webb, DSW, on the subject of early parent loss.

Let me tell you about the film:

The movie, Ponette is an absolute marvel. You will not need it in order to complete the test. Ponette is four years old when her mother dies in an accident. For Ponette, this absence is intolerable. She talks to her mother, calling for her, unable to believe that she is no longer there and will never return. Nobody, it seems, will ever be able to convince her to stop looking.

Little Ponette's refusal to accept adult reality, her struggle against her surroundings, and her refusal to be comforted form the inspiration for this film - the innocence of children contrasted with the 'reality' of adult existence.

By presenting the world through the eyes of a grieving four-year old, Ponette manages to do what few motion pictures can - regress an audience into childhood. The film effortlessly takes us into the magical world of a four-year old, where stuffed animals have extraordinary powers, dolls are more than inanimate objects, and God is someone you can talk to and expect an answer from.

When I recall Ponette, the first thing I think of is the heartbreakingly pure performance of young Victoire Thivisol. From start to finish, little Miss Thivisol is nothing short of amazing. I couldn't believe she wasn't an adult midget playing a little child. This is the kind of portrayal that would be labeled as a standout from an actor of any age, but, from someone who's only four, it's astonishing. Even if the movie were not so moving and evocative, it would be worth viewing simply for the character that Thivisol brings to life.

For her incredible performance, Ms. Thivisol, then age 4, received the Best Actress Award at the Venice Film Festival in 1996.