Life-Threatening Illness-Support
(Lansing location only)
TLC - Together Learning to Cope
The TLC–or Together Learning to Cope–program provides supportive services to children who are coping with a family member’s life-threatening illness. TLC offers ongoing peer support groups for children between the ages of 3 and 18 and for their parents or guardians. These groups provide an accepting environment in which children can express their feelings, connect with others who are going through a similar experience, and learn new coping skills.
Clinicians and trained volunteers, supervised by professional clinical staff, facilitate the groups. Children are divided by age groups, and their parents or guardians attend adult groups concurrently. One group is offered for adult caregivers and a second group is available for the ill adult in the family.
When someone is diagnosed with a serious or life-threatening illness, it can send a family into a state of crisis as they try to meet the needs of the patient and the family as a whole. In addition, children may have difficulty understanding what is happening to the person with the illness and are unprepared for the changes the family will likely face. Families often feel a need to be strong for each other and may not be aware of the impact of the illness on the children.
Children may have many questions and concerns about the illness, but they often have difficulty expressing them and may not ask the questions directly. Such questions include:
- Did I make this happen?
- Is this my fault?
- Will I get sick, too?
- Who will take care of me?
- How will this affect me?
TLC support groups help the family get the emotional support needed to aide in living with the challenges of a very serious illness from the point of diagnosis. Together, with other children in a similar situation, group members are able to express their hopes and fears, and learn how to cope with the illness of a family member.
