About this course

Learning Objectives

• Interpret the evolution of grief theory and research, with a particular focus on the paradigm shift of the last 25 years that allowed for the emergence of modern grief theory and a significant shift the clinical understanding of adaptive grief and goals of grief support.
• Identify and describe significant types of grief that may be relevant to their practice, including anticipatory grief, ambiguous loss, cumulative loss, disenfranchised grief, and nonfinite loss.
• Recognize common cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and spiritual experiences common to adaptive grief.
• Review common personal and interpersonal stuck points that can prove barriers to adapting after a loss.

Learning Levels

• Introductory

Course Instructor(s)

• 

  Eleanor Haley, MS

  Eleanor Haley, MS is co-founder of What’s Your Grief, one of the country’s largest online grief and bereavement support communities which is accessed by over 3 million grievers every year. With a background in counseling psychology, Eleanor has over 15 years of expertise in grief, with expertise in working with families who have experienced traumatic and unexpected losses. She is co-author of the book What's Your Grief: Lists to Help You Through Any Loss and has co-authored 15 grief publications used in hospitals, hospices, funeral homes, and OPOs across the US and Canada. She has experience teaching psychology courses at the college level and is passionate about innovative teaching methods, technologies, and pedagogical approaches to enhance grief education and support. She has been interviewed as a grief expert for media outlets including NPR, Washington Post, The New York Times, USNews, and Huffington Post.

• 

  Litsa Williams MA, LCSW-C

  Litsa Williams, MA, LCSW-C is the co-founder of the online grief organization What’s Your Grief. She’s a grief therapist with 15 years of experience, with expertise in sudden and traumatic loss as well as ambiguous grief. Drawing on personal and professional experience with grief, WYG was built as a resource offering concrete, practical, creative, down-to-earth, and relatable support, founded on the values of psychoeducation and creative coping. It has grown to serve more than 3 million visitors each year. Litsa received her master's degree in Clinical Social Work from the University of Maryland School of Social Work, as well as a master’s degree in Philosophy from the University of Warwick (UK). She has been interviewed as a grief expert for the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, NPR, and New York Times. She co-authored the 2022 book What's Your Grief: Lists to Help You Through Any Loss.

Disclosure

References

• Avis, K. A., Stroebe, M., & Schut, H. (2021). Stages of grief portrayed on the internet: A systematic analysis and critical appraisal. Frontiers in psychology, 12, 772696. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.772696
• Cacciatore, J., Thieleman, K., Fretts, R., & Jackson, L. B. (2021). What is good grief support? Exploring the actors and actions in social support after traumatic grief. PloS one, 16(5), e0252324. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0252324
• Bordere, T. (2022). The Weight of Black Grief. The Handbook of Grief Therapies, 199.
• Chen, R. (2022). Social support as a protective factor against the effect of grief reactions on depression for bereaved single older adults. Death studies, 46(3), 756-763. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2020.1774943
• De Leon Corona, A. G., Chin, J., No, P., & Tom, J. (2022). The virulence of grief in the pandemic: Bereavement overload during COVID. American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine®, 39(10), 1244-1249. https://doi.org/10.1177/10499091211057094
• Gravesen, J. D., & Birkelund, R. (2021). The discursive transformation of grief throughout history. Nursing Philosophy, 22(3), e12351. https://doi.org/10.1111/nup.12351