The Bear Us In Mind team

Bear Us In Mind was created by a small team of individuals, committed to the support and wellbeing of children, especially in regard to separation, loss and bereavement. Read more about them, and the project, below.

Our Story

Longer-term issues with anxiety and depression can arise when a child is not able to process grief and trauma. The Bear Us In Mind project was created to offer an accessible intervention for children, enabling timely and appropriate support and the prevention of more complex reactions to loss.

The toolkit is designed to give an adult the confidence to help a child in a way that is impactful, simple and safe. It aims to allow children to begin to process their experiences of separation and loss, while actively retaining connections with people, places and a culture that has shaped their lives. When a child feels psychologically stronger, they are more likely to integrate and adapt to their new situation. We hope this toolkit will help empower adults to help children to adapt, so they can learn, love and gradually grow beyond the pain and suffering they have experienced.

Trauma and grief are common psychological outcomes of war which can bring about monumental change and separation. Julie and her team created this psychological toolkit to better support refugee families and their children impacted by the conflict in Ukraine, however due to demand, the scope has been expanded to support children from a number of other locations, including Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Bear Us in Mind Team

Frances Carron

Project Coordinator

Frances is a trained primary teacher with 20 years of experience as an Advisory teacher, supporting children and young people who have English as an additional language (EAL). In this role, she has taught in schools in the UK, Cairo and America. Frances has designed and delivered training on EAL pedagogy, both face-to-face and online, to teaching staff both in the UK and International schools. Through working with new arrivals, refugees and unaccompanied asylum seekers in UK schools, Frances recognises the challenges faced by children and young people displaced by war. Throughout her career, she has been inspired by the resilience and determination of these children and young people.

Eloise Gordon Lennox

Project Consultant

Eloise helped co-found Bear Us In Mind and was the Project Manager throughout 2022, after graduating from Durham University. She has spent time volunteering with refugees in Calais and Dunkirk.

Debbie Redfearn

Therapeutic Consultant

Debbie was the Clinical Lead on Bear Us In Mind throughout 2022.

Debbie is an Integrative Counsellor with a special interest in grief, loss and intergenerational trauma.

Janet Richmond

Duchess of Richmond, Founding Patron

Janet Richmond is a practising psychotherapist who has specialised in child bereavement for over 20 years. She is the long-standing President of Winston's Wish, and also works as a therapy supervisor. She lives in Goodwood, where she has started the innovative Health and Wellbeing Programme.

Julie Stokes OBE

Founder

Julie is the Founder of child bereavement charity, Winston’s Wish, and works with The Preston Associates as an Executive Coach. She has over 30 years’ experience as a CEO, Non-Executive Director, and as a Consultant level Clinical / Health Psychologist. She is the author of You Will Be Okay – a non-fiction guide for children (and their parents) following a family death.

You Will Be Okay

With this honest, comforting and strength-building guide, Julie Stokes OBE provides readers with the tools children need to navigate the tough and turbulent time that comes from the death of a parent, sibling or friend.

Readers will discover the stories of other people who have been through grief, and they will learn to manage their grief so they can begin to move forward in life.

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