Complicated Grief and Loss

Complicated Grief and Loss                                             

Saturday, October 27, 2018 | 9:00 – 12:00 noon

About the Course

Grief has many faces. Each culture or group establishes what is normal and what is not normal in responding to losses. As clinicians and/or pastoral care givers, how do we know if what we are seeing is healthy or unhealthy grief or a cultural variation? What can we do to support healthy grieving so that we do no harm and instead offer help? How can we respond clinically and/or pastorally to complicated grief? In this training for clinicians, clergy, and lay persons, we will explore what triggers and exacerbates complicated grief and what aids and supports recovery. Using the dual process model (which posits healthy grief as an oscillation between loss-orientation and restoration-orientation) and narrative theory’s emphasis on re-storying one’s life and relationships, attendees will gain confidence in helping persons experiencing complicated grief to re-engage with life.

Course Objectives

1. Participants will understand how to identify normal grief and differentiate it from complicated grief
2. Participants will be able to list risk factors and triggers that can lead to complicated grief
3. Participants will assess spiritual assets and potential limitations that may aid or exacerbate complicated grief
4. Participants will be able to describe 3 techniques that regulate intense grief emotions in times of loss-orientation
5. Participants will describe how re-storying throughout the grief process can assist the bereaved in re-engaging with life

Target Audience

Target audience includes psychologists, social workers, professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, recovery coaches, peer specialists, nurses, nurse practitioners, psychiatrists, and substance abuse counselors for this intermediate level of instruction.

CEs

• 3.0 PCB Approved Education Credits
• 3.0 Continuing Education Credits for Licensed Social workers, Licensed Professional Counselors, and Licensed Marriage and Family therapists
• 3.0 Continuing Education Credits for Registered Nurses (RN) and Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN)

There is no conflict of interest or commercial support for this program.

All attendees must arrive promptly at the beginning of the training and remain the duration of the training to receive continuing education credits. Please have license number available when signing in. There is a $25 fee for continuing education credits.

Persons with disabilities and special needs are encouraged to contact the registrar for further information.

About the Presenter

1. Jane Williams, Ph.D., M.Div. is a psychologist and Episcopal priest with 30+ years of clinical experience who has a keen interest in integrating spirituality, spiritual practices, and holistic health with counseling. She offers workshops and spiritual direction through her private practice Holistic Counseling Resources and writes periodic reflections on what is a life lived meaningfully in her blog: wordpress.com/posts/pilgrimagepaths.blog.

Dr. Williams was widowed twice prior to age 35 and subsequently has studied extensively the processes of chronic illness, loss, and recovery from grief. She works with grieving persons and those who are experiencing chronic or terminal illnesses. Her experience and research informs the classes she teaches on Chronic Illness, Death and Loss and the current research and clinical examples she provides in her presentations.

For more information, contact Karen M. Kern at 215.453.5171 or kkern@pennfoundation.org

If you do not receive the professional benefits described in our program materials or you have some other professional complaint, please let us know in writing within 7 days of the training and we will honor your request for a refund.