This session will focus on supporting individuals who have experienced a stigmatized loss, including loss by suicide, homicide, and addiction. Presenters will review grief occurrence data for children and youth, along with practical understandings of relevant grief theories to guide practice with this bereaved population. As stigmatized loss is often accompanied by feelings of shame, guilt, and anger, it is vital for those working in the field to better understand the impact of stigmatized grief and loss on children and families. Several of the challenging components of working with those bereaved by stigmatized loss will be explored. Presenters will discuss important therapeutic techniques, interventions, and conversations for youth and caregivers, including best practices for helping children understand death by suicide, homicide, and/or addiction. Stigmatized losses often occur after traumatic lives. Therefore, aspects of understanding the impact of trauma on youth will also be explored. Presenters will provide several opportunities for experiential learning as we discuss and practice activity and body-based interventions for children and families. Finally, attendees will be provided with a multitude of resources to better understand and work with stigmatized loss and continue to inform practice.
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Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support professionals
Instructional Level: Intermediate – This best describes a topic or issue the audience likely has a theoretical foundation for understanding and/or working knowledge.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar
Objectives:
After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Define stigmatized loss.
- Identify at least two theories of grief that can be adapted to work with a population bereaved by stigmatized loss.
- Utilize two body-based interventions for traumatic loss in children and youth.
- Identify best practices to discuss stigmatized loss with youth.
- Identify two online resources for further information on stigmatized loss faced by children and families.
Speaker Bios:
Jodi Flesner, Ph.D., LPC, is a clinical supervisor, licensed therapist, and program coordinator at Heartlinks Grief Center. Jodi completed her master’s degree in Community Counseling at Loyola University Chicago in 2007 and her doctoral degree in Counselor Education and Supervision from the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 2015. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in both Illinois and Missouri. Jodi has worked at Heartlinks for seven years where she conducts individual and family counseling, group counseling, community outreach to support those grieving in the community, and various grief support groups at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Prior to that she worked as a doctoral intern at hospice for two years where she conducted individual and family bereavement support services, group counseling, and counseling at multiple grief/bereavement retreats and camps. She has taught multiple master’s level counseling courses, published a peer-reviewed article titled, “A Shift in the Conceptual Understanding of Grief: Using Meaning-Oriented Therapies with Bereaved Clients,” and completed multiple presentations in the area of bereavement including grief and coping in caregivers, theories of grief over time, exploring stigmatized loss, the importance of meaning making after a death loss, and the importance of infusing death education into counseling programs.
Diana Cuddeback, LCSW, is the Founding Director of Heartlinks Grief Center in Belleville, Illinois. Since her first Children’s Grief Group in 1991, Diana has provided children, families, and individuals innovative grief programming. Heartlinks serves individuals of all ages before and after a loss due to death. Diana and the Heartlinks team, provide individual and family counseling, grief support groups, as well as portable grief outreach programs and grief education. Diana’s mission is to create a meaningful community of support for grieving people filled with learning, activity, fun and connection. Diana is an experienced presenter who has presented on a variety of topics including children’s grief, traumatic loss and coping, stigmatized loss and the impact on children and families, and the various impacts of addiction-related loss, among others.
Supported by the philanthropic investment
of the New York Life Foundation.