The video game helping children through grief

A video game is helping thousands of vulnerable young people turn their darkest moments into moments of creativity and hope that they can pass on to others.

Apart of Me is designed to help children and young adults open up about their loss and trauma in a safe and supportive environment.

The game, co-founded by Manchester psychologist Louis Weinstock, is now a charity and has helped 44,000 people in the UK, and 160,000 worldwide to understand and process their grief.

Mr Weinstock said it was designed to put them "on a better path" to "transform their grief into compassion".

"It basically means that by the end of their journey with us, we like to see them in a position where they are finding ways to help others who have experienced something like them," he said.

The game, created in 2018, is designed for 11-18-year-olds who have been affected by a loss which is potentially impacting their mental health.

Set on an island, users can play the 3D game anonymously as it introduces characters who each have a grief-related struggle they are finding hard to deal with.

It is the user's task to help the characters find a way through and this is done by collecting objects, with each object informing the user about different aspects of grief, Mr Weinstock explains.

The game also allows the user to ask questions they may feel scared or uncomfortable to talk about generally.

"It gives young people an outlet to have those conversations that otherwise might be difficult to have," he added.

The 45-year-old, who was a former social worker, is passionate about making therapy more accessible and hopes the game provides a partial solution to that.

"Grief can profoundly affect and sadly damage young people who don't get the right support at the right time," he said.

"When a young person experiences a loss or a trauma, they're at a much increased risk of developing anxiety and depression.

"We should be talking about that more and trying to intervene earlier in these young people's lives, unfortunately the conversations have kind of got stuck at the point at which young people have already developed the symptoms, and that ends up costing everyone so much more.

"So we're really trying to push and make the case that if you can intervene early, you'll actually have a significant impact on reducing the likelihood of these young people experiencing these problems."

Mr Weinstock, who lives in Altrincham, has worked with children and young people for most of his adult life and has also been impacted by grief.

His grandfather died suddenly from a heart attack when his father was just 13-years-old.

When Louis was 13 he said he got into a lot of trouble, which he believed was partially down to unresolved grief his father was facing.

He said he never really understood why he had gone "off the rails" until he got older.

"My dad didn't actually have a dad and he didn't have anyone to help him through his grief, and I'm sure that that's part of the reason why from that age I was going through a challenging time.

"Carrying this grief has been passed down through the family line, carrying down a kind of mission to want to help people who are who are in a similar situation to my dad."

Mr Weinstock said the original idea for the game came from young people themselves as "not all want to sit in a room with a stranger and talk about their feelings".

Before setting up Apart of Me, which became a UK registered charity, he met with young people at a hospice who all expressed the idea of a game to help them with their bereavement.

"I've met young people who lost a parent and would get kicked out of school, some of them were taking overdoses, joining gangs or at risk of self-harming."

He said feedback from users had been one of gratitude.

"They were really grateful that they had this tool that they could use when they needed it, rather than having to wait for a 50 minute or a 30 minute slot every week," he said.

"They were also grateful that it helped them to make sense of their feelings and particularly that it helped them to feel less alone."

Apart of Me is being rolled out to selected schools as part of a three-year programme funded by the National Lottery.

Mr Weinstock is also hoping to create a new version of the game to feature 'heart notes', which will allow young people to leave notes of compassion to others on the island, which he is currently fundraising for.

The game, which is free to use and download, does not require a referral but does point to services within game play if needed.

If you, or someone you know, have been affected by bereavement, child bereavement or end of life care, you can find support through BBC Action Line.

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