David Kessler – David Kessler On Grief and Grieving

Outline

Interventions that can Shape Grief

Anticipatory Grief

• Treatment strategies
• Tools for normalizing anticipatory grief for the patient/client

Children in Grief

• Tools for preparing for the loss
• Interventions for coping enhancement for funerals
• The forgotten grievers
• Learn the truth about children going to funerals and open caskets

Complicated Grief

• Simplifying the model
• Murder, multiple losses, sudden death, suicide
• Alzheimer’s

Explanations of Types of Grief

• Delayed
• Disenfranchised
• Ambiguous
• Inconclusive
• Complicated
• Average response
• Resilience

Forgiveness

• Learn alternatives to forgiveness
• Understand when it works and why it doesn’t
• Learn techniques your client can use to actually find forgiveness

The Grief of Suicide

• Understand how grief of suicide is different
• Learn techniques for releasing feelings of responsibility
• Tools for healing grief after suicide

The Body and Grief

• Help understand how we hold grief in our body
• Learn techniques your client can use to get in touch with residual grief in the body
• Understand the ways the body remembers

Trauma

• How we often re-traumatize ourselves in grief
• Learn the difference between releasing grief and replaying traumatic events
• How vicarious trauma can affect the clinician

Positive Psychology and Grief

• Learn how positive psychology can be used in healing grief
• Understand why clients may treat themselves harshly in grief
• Learn new ways to decrease suffering after a loss

Pet Loss

• Learn why pet loss is just as significant as other losses
• Understand why clients may not reveal loss of a pet
• Learn new ways to help with feelings of exaggerated responsibility

Self-care for Clinician Working with Loss

• Learn how to take care of ourselves when being surrounded by loss
• Understand why we sometimes over identify with clients
• Understand if it’s helpful to self-disclose about the clinicians loss

Successfully Supporting Friends and Family Members in Grief

• Learn what to say and what not to say
• Understand proven strategies that will help clients heal themselves while not getting lost in others’ grief
• Tools for normalizing anticipatory grief for the patient/client

Tools for the Clinician to Help Clients Cope with

• Bullycide
• Anniversaries
• Holidays – the seen and unseen
• Birthdays

Disasters and How We Cope

• Shootings/hurricanes/earthquakes and terrorist acts
• Techniques for approaching horrific crime and/or disaster scenes
• The impact of natural vs. manmade disasters