Facilitating Parent and Caregiver Support Groups

Many children’s bereavement centers and programs across the United States offer concurrent support groups for parents and caregivers that are typically held during the same time as children and teen grief support groups are being offered. This presentation will cover practical tips for facilitating grief support groups for parents, caregivers, and other adults. Best practices for running adult groups will be discussed, including group dynamics, group cohesion, and protecting the process. Additional topics include managing conflict and navigating challenging behaviors in groups, such as advice-giving, monopolizing, interrupting, or one-upping. Suggestions for effective ways to handle controversial topics when they arise in group will also be discussed. This presentation will include a discussion about providing grief support to parents and caregivers in a group setting while also providing helpful information to them about their children’s grief. Effective openings and closings will also be presented in this workshop. There will be plenty of time for questions and discussion.

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Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals
Instructional Level: Basic – This best describes a topic or issue that the prospective audience is encountering for the first time in a meaningful way.

 

Objectives:

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

  • List best practices for running parent and caregiver bereavement support groups.
  • Identify challenging behaviors that arise in adult support groups and effective ways to handle them.
  • Discuss effective ways to protect the process and manage conflict in a bereavement group for parents and caregivers.

Speaker Bio:

Pamela Gabbay, EdD, FT is a nationally recognized trainer and consultant who has served the bereavement field in many capacities during her 25-year career. Dr. Gabbay is currently the Director of Operations and Training for The Compassionate Friends and is on the TAPS Advisory Board. She is part of the training corps of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). Dr. Gabbay has served in a variety of roles including being the Director of The Mourning Star Center for Grieving Children and Camp Erin, Palm Springs. Dr. Gabbay is the co-author, along with Andy McNiel, of Understanding and Supporting Bereaved Children: A Practical Guide for Professionals. She is on the Executive Committee of ADEC’s Credentialing Council and served as the President of the Southern California Chapter of ADEC. Additionally, Dr. Gabbay previously served as Vice President on the Board of the NACG. She was also an adjunct faculty member in the psychology department at Brandman University. Dr. Gabbay holds a Fellow in Thanatology (FT) from the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) and earned a Master of Arts degree in Cognitive Psychology from Claremont Graduate University. She earned her Doctor of Education degree in Organizational Leadership from Brandman University.

 

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