Podcast by Julia Gohlke – English Version / German Version
The replacementchildforum.com has invited bereaved parent Julia Gohlke to share her podcast episodes destined for these three audiences:
for parents who lost a child
for replacement children themselves and
for counsellors helping both, replacement children and bereaved parents.
Julia Gohlke lost her son Simon in 2016; he was born prematurely at 6 months and died in her arms, at only 5 days old. Since then, she has embarked on a long journey of healing and is offering her experience and advice in her podcasts. Vital advice such as: do not compare the missing child with the new child, do not give the same first name, or one recalling the lost child, do not idealize the missing child. Julia invites bereaved parents to do their inner work. Her message: you can grieve and you can heal and you can prevent that another child in the family, a new or a surviving child, will be a replacement child, suffering from overprotection, protracted grief, parentification, survivor’s guilt and other, often unconscious afflictions, such as feeling not good enough, searching for their own identity issues and finding love difficult.
Love the new child and watch over its own individual, unique development – it is not a replacement – and strive to be aware and keep understanding for yourself and the child.
“Trust your own healing journey”, says Julia Gohlke.
The replacementchildforum.com invites you to listen to Julia’s podcast, available here in an English version and a German version, and we express our gratitude to Julia Gohlke for this contribution.
Julia is a specialized Grief Counsellor and Life Coach and is currently finishing her degree as a systemic therapist.
Please send your questions and feedback to the replacementchildforum.com and to Julia at her website https://juliagohlke.de/.