Grief 101: A Foundation for Professionals

Though grief theory has advanced decades beyond the 5 stages of grief, education has not kept pace. This leaves many professionals feeling unsure of the best support models to use with grieving clients. Using modern grief theory and research, this session will help participants to understand the most current conceptualizations of how individuals grieve, relevant types of grief, styles of grievers, and common cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and spiritual experiences faced by grievers. It will familiarize participants with the 2022 addition of Prolonged Grief Disorder to the DSM 5 alongside th...Read moree critiques of this diagnosis.

The workshop is ideal for those who have not taken a course in grief, as well as those looking for a contemporary refresher. Grief is one of the few experiences that nearly every client faces at some point. Therapists, social workers, and counselors in almost all settings provide support to clients grieving both death and nondeath losses, making this an offering relevant to the majority of practice settings.

Facilitated by the co-founders of What's Your Grief, one of the country's largest online grief and bereavement support and education communities, participants will leave this workshop with the concrete, foundational tools necessary to provide first-line support to grieving clients. Less...

Learning Objectives

Review and 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.

Target Audience

This educational activity is intended for behavioral health professionals, including Psychologists, Social Workers, Counselors, and MFT's.

Learning Levels

Introductory

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Live Interactive Webinar

12:00 PM EDT - 03:15 PM EDT

EARN 3 CE Credit Hours

About the speakers

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.

Agenda

12:00-1:00 Exploring the Evolution of Grief Theory

Trace the development of grief theory from Freud to the present day, focusing on a significant shift in approach during the late 90s and early 2000s.

1:00-1:30 Understanding Different Types of Grief: Part 1

Examine various common forms of grief and considerations for support

1:30-1:45 Break

1:45-2:15 Understanding Different Types of Grief: Part 2

Further exploration the spectrum of grief experiences, including secondary and nondeath losses.

2:15-3:00 Understanding How People Grieve

Framework for conceptualiziing how individuals cope with grief, considering cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses.
Identification common barriers, stuckpoints, and support needs

3:00-3:15 Applying Insights to Practice and QA

Discussion of practical applications their significance for professional practice.

CE Information - Earn 3 CE Credit Hours

CE Approvals

American Psychological Association

CE Learning Systems, LLC is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. CE Learning Systems maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work

CE Learning Systems SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #0060.

New York Education Department for Licensed Mental Health Counselors

CE Learning Systems, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0072.

New York Education Department Board for Licensed Psychoanalysts

CE Learning Systems, LLC dba CE-credit.com & AddictionCounselorCE.com is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychoanalysts #P-0031.

Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners

What's Your Grief is authorized by the Board of Social Work Examiners in Maryland to sponsor social work continuing education learning activities and maintains full responsibility for this program. This training qualifies for XX Category I continuing education units.

New York State Education Department's State Board for Marriage and Family Therapy

CE Learning Systems dba CE-Credit.com & AddictionCounselorCE.com is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Marriage and Family Therapy as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists #MFT-0045.

CE Process Info

Each professional is responsible for the individual requirements as stipulated by his/her licensing agency. Please contact your individual licensing board/regulatory agency to review continuing education requirements for licensure renewal. Please note: You must attend "live" (in real-time) to earn CE's.

A continuing education certificate for the event will be obtained using the website, CE-Go. After the event, you will receive an email containing a link to CE-Go. (This link will be sent to the email account you used to register for the event).

Upon accessing the CE-Go website, you will be able to:

Complete evaluation forms for the event
Download your continuing education certificate in a PDF format

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE-Go process, please contact CE-Go at 888-498-5578 or by email at support@ce-go.com

Please Note: Emails for this event will come from "support@ce-go.com". Please make sure to check your spam/junk folder in case those emails get "stuck". We'd also suggest "whitelisting" support@ce-go.com. This tells your email client that you know this sender and trust them, which will keep emails from this contact at the top of your inbox and out of the junk folder.

Disclosure

DISCLOSURE OF RELEVANT FINANCIAL RELATIONSHIPS
CE Learning Systems adheres to the ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity ― including faculty, planners, reviewers, or others ― are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (formerly known as commercial interests).

The following relevant financial relationships have been disclosed by this activity’s planners, faculty, and the reviewer:

PLANNERS AND REVIEWER
The planners of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships.

FACULTY
The faculty of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships.