CHILD psychologists who supported the Dunblane community after the school killings in 1996 are to speak at a North-East conference on dealing with youngsters' grief.

Dr Mike O'Connor and Dr Alison Russell will lead a workshop at the event in Darlington next month, focusing on the impact of trauma and the effects of traumatic memories on children.

The conference, called A Child's Grief, is aimed at equipping professionals with the skills to help children overcome loss.

It has been organised by Tees Valley Area Cruse Bereavement Care and will address issues associated with children's ability to cope with death and the help they receive.

One of the speakers will be Jenni Thomas, president and founder of the Child Bereavement Trust, who received the OBE in 2002 for her work with bereaved children.

She will give a presentation titled Children and Grief, which will look at how adults can support young people who have experienced the death of someone close to them.

Child psychologist Dr Virginia Ryan, from the University of York, will talk about how play therapy helps bereaved children and families and will outline current practice.

Other issues to be covered at the conference include building confidence in people who work with grief-stricken children, the law and children's rights in relation to counselling and running a bereavement group in a secondary school.

Cruse area co-ordinator Ian Rogers said: "Both Jenni and Virginia are renowned experts in their field and we are delighted that they are coming to Darlington to pass on their experience to volunteers who work locally.

"By increasing our knowledge of the many and varied aspects of bereavement through the skills our speakers and workshop presenters will pass on, we will become more informed in our response to the bereaved people we come into contact with."

About 100 volunteers work for Tees Valley Cruse, covering Darlington, Teesdale, Weardale, Teesside, Hartlepool, Hambleton and Richmondshire.

The conference is at Morton Park Business Training Centre in Darlington on May 14 from 9am to 4.40pm and places are still available. For more information call (01325) 252777.