When supporting children in grief, clinicians bring best intentions and well-developed skills to the therapeutic relationship. Yet their own histories of loss can surface, often in unrecognized ways and may shape how they engage with children in grief. Without awareness and reflection, these reactions risk complicating the healing process. Research demonstrates that previously developed relationship patterns and emotional expression influence the therapeutic relationship (Prasko et al., 2022).

Recognizing and reflecting on these experiences is essential in grief work. Equally critical is the capacity to regulate one’s own response to remain attuned and effective to the child. Clinicians themselves confirm this, “those least likely to talk about grief with their clients described feeling uncomfortable reflecting on their own grief,” highlighting the necessity of self-reflection before working with clients in grief (Blueford et al., 2022).

Using creative modalities may help in this process. As Shukla et al., (2022) note, creative activities can reduce stress, offering an accessible entry point for reflection and coping. Similarly, del Río Diéguez et al., (2024) demonstrate that creative arts therapy interventions foster emotional regulation and self-awareness, supporting counselors as they acknowledge personal grief, process emotions, and regulate more effectively.

This session introduces art-based techniques designed to foster both self-reflection and self-regulation for clinicians supporting children in grief. Drawing on international fieldwork in Ukraine during war, the presenter will illustrate how trauma-informed training, paired with art-based activities, helped psychotherapists deepen awareness of their own grief responses while working under ongoing stress and loss.

Participants will engage in a brief guided art therapy experiential to explore their own comfort with grief, reflect on their own responses, and practice methods for helping to maintain regulation while working with children in grief.

Continuing Education (CE) Credits: 1.5 continuing education credits pending
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals, school professionals
Instructional Level: Intermediate – This best describes a topic or issue that the audience likely has a theoretical foundation for understanding and/or a working knowledge
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Cost: Free for NACG Members; $60 for Guests without CEs, $75 for Guests with CEs

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After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

• Define countertransference in grief counseling and explain how a counselor’s own loss history may influence the therapeutic relationship with client.
• Identify personal responses (of loss, attunement, needs) through a guided refection that may impact presence in the therapeutic relationship.
• Demonstrate an art-based activity designed to increase awareness of loss and its influence on the clinical work with children in grief.
• Practice an art-based self-regulation technique to manage emotional responses while working with children in grief.

Speaker Bio:

Wendy Bradley, MS, ATR-BC, CLAT, is a board certified and licensed art therapist with over 25 years experience working with children, teens and families medical, psychiatric and school-based settings. She has been in private practice for ten years now, where she focuses on children in grief and trauma. Wendy is also an adjunct professor, teaching courses in communication, psychology and child development.

In 2024, Wendy co-designed and co-directed a grief and trauma respite camp in Ukraine, where she trained Ukrainian psychotherapists and facilitated art-based interventions for children and families living in an active war zone. This work continues to inform her work with children and families, helping them process grief through safety, regulation, and connection, to build resilience.

She is also the author of “Spidey Senses”, a children’s book created to help young readers manage anxiety and strengthen coping skills through their five senses.  Wendy presents at national and international conferences, sharing her expertise in trauma-informed art therapy and developmentally responsive grief work with children.

Supported by the philanthropic investment
of the New York Life Foundation.

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information:

Each professional is responsible for the individual requirements as stipulated by their 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 CEs. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the CE process, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688.

The National Alliance for Children’s Grief has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7221. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.

The National Alliance for Children’s Grief 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 #SW-0689. Social Workers completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.

The National Alliance for Children’s Grief 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-0238. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 contact hours.

National Alliance for Children’s Grief, #1819, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers.  State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. National Alliance for Children’s Grief maintains responsibility for this course.  ACE provider approval period: 07/20/2023 – 07/20/2026. Counselors completing this course will receive 1.5 continuing education credits.

Refund/cancellation policy: If you need to cancel your registration, please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688. Please note that no refunds will be given.

To request accessibility accommodations: The National Alliance for Children’s Grief is committed to providing universal access to all our events. Please contact Megan Lopez at megan.lopez@childrengrieve.org or at (432) 288-4688 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.

Attendance policy: To earn CEs for this event, you must attend the entirety of the event as demonstrated by your autogenerated login and logout time on the Zoom Webinar report and complete an online event evaluation within seven (7) days of the event. Please make sure you are signed into Zoom using the name that matches your professional license and not the name of your place of employment, as there is no way to verify your attendance after the fact if your name does not appear on the Zoom Webinar report. CE certificates will be sent out within 30 days of the educational event. The link for your certificate will come from “certificates@simplecert.net” as the National Alliance for Children’s Grief. Please be sure to add this email to your “safe sender list”. The NACG is unable to process certificates after 90 days from the date of the event. 

CE Certificate retrieval request: The NACG maintains continuing education records for at least six years from the date of completion of the educational event which include: the name and curriculum vitae of the presenter, a record of attendance, an outline of the course, date, and location of the course, and the number of hours for completion of the course. If you attended a CE educational event and need a copy of your CE certificate, please complete this form to obtain a copy: https://nacg.wufoo.com/forms/qfsln7r1twqpty/. Please note if the education event was more than 90 days ago, and a required evaluation was not completed, a certificate cannot be provided per the policy.

Grievance policy:  To view the NACG’s Continuing Education Grievance Policy, you can find it HERE. Please complete THIS form to share a grievance with the NACG regarding a continuing education event.