Using Fictional Characters to Help Children and Adolescents Who Are Grieving Live Interactive Webinar

Reading about fictional characters’ grief and loss experiences can help children and adolescents deal with their own grief and loss. Many stories written for children and adolescents, like the Harry Potter books, are filled with loss and death. But literature, like magic, can open new worlds for people, and show many possible ways to survive losses and challenges and even flourish beyond them. Using reading and storytelling to help improve a person’s mental health is often referred to as bibliotherapy. This session will present activities based on J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series to help children and adolescents deal with grief and loss, as well as activities based on other books to help children who are grieving (including Everett Anderson’s Long Goodbye, Charlotte’s Web, Where the Red Fern Grows, and The Hunger Games). The session’s goal is to give participants many practical individual and group activities, including discussion questions, worksheets, and crafts, that can help children who are grieving.

This playback is available to active NACG members only.

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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.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Objectives:

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Summarize how bibliotherapy can help children and adolescents who are grieving.
Describe how reading the fictional works presented may help children who are grieving.
Discuss specific activities using fictional characters that may be helpful for specific age levels and situations of children who are grieving.

Speaker Bios:

Kathryn Markell, PhD teaches Child and Adolescent Development and Death and Dying classes at Anoka-Ramsey Community College. She has published and presented scholarly work on how to help grieving children and adolescents, including co-authoring the book “The Children Who Lived: Using Harry Potter and Other Fictional Characters to Help Grieving Children and Adolescents”.

Marc Markell, PhD teaches at Worsham College of Mortuary Science; he is also a professor emeritus at St. Cloud State University. He teaches Death Education for non-grieving children. Marc is a certified Thanatologist and Death and Grief Studies. He presents locally, nationally, and internationally. Marc has published three books on grief, as well as book chapters and numerous articles.

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

The Intersection of Domestic Violence and the Grieving Process of Children

Children who experience domestic violence are impacted at every level of their wellness. They can lose a caregiver or sibling(s) through separation, housing stability, and even the feeling of safety, security, and belonging, all contributing to a child’s grief. This grief may be initially overlooked or dismissed as adults focus on establishing safety and meeting the basic needs of all involved. This webinar will teach professionals how domestic violence and grief are intertwined. The webinar will highlight how domestic violence impacts the grieving process, particularly through secondary trauma and disenfranchised grief.

This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Objectives:

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Describe how secondary trauma from domestic violence impacts a child’s grieving process.
Discuss the intersection of disenfranchised grief with children who have experienced domestic violence.
Implement 2-3 therapeutic interventions to assist children who have lost a parent/caregiver to domestic violence.

Speaker Bios:

Sheree Burnett, MA, LPC-S is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor. She has over 10 years of experience working with various populations in community mental health, private practice, hospital, and university settings. She has particular training in working with trauma individuals and families who have experienced domestic violence. She has conducted didactic training, participated in panel conferences, assisted with developing a curriculum about domestic violence for the educational system, and co-developed department initiatives to bring awareness about domestic violence and ways to celebrate survivors of domestic abuse. In addition, Sheree has worked with and participated in training to assist children and their families about grief. She also obtained certification in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy which further allows her to assist survivors and grieving individuals with their healing journey in therapy.

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

Occupational Therapy’s Role in Supporting Children’s Grief: Tools, Sensory Strategies, and When to Refer

When children experience a stressful life event, their nervous systems can have difficulty regulating. Children exhibit grief reactions in various ways that may present similarly to sensory and emotional dysregulation. Occupational therapists can partner with families to provide a holistic mental health approach. This presentation will address the role and benefit of occupational therapy, mental health strategies that may help, and when to seek out occupational therapy services.

Handouts:

Become a NACG member today! Your membership will provide access to free monthly webinars with CEs on current topics to support you in your work, discounts on educational events, access to all webinar playbacks, and more. To learn more and become a member to access this webinar for no additional cost, visit HERE →

Objectives:

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Participants will be able to describe occupational therapy and how it can benefit children experiencing grief
Participants will be able to identify two occupational therapy mental health strategies/tools that can be utilized in a clinic or at home.
Participants will be able to recognize when to refer a child experiencing grief to occupational therapy services.

Speaker Bios:

Michelle Michaels is an occupational therapy doctoral student at Huntington University, who is completing her capstone experience project while collaborating with the National Alliance of Children’s Grief (NACG). She is extremely passionate about her project working with the NACG due to her personal experiences with childhood grief following the death of her mother. She also has ten years of experience working with children with and without disabilities as a care provider, direct support professional, and a personal paraprofessional aid. She gained occupational therapy clinical experience through her Level II Fieldwork placement at an outpatient pediatric clinic that utilized a sensory-based approach. Once she has passed the NBCOT exam following graduation in April, she plans to go into travel occupational therapy.

Centering Intersectionality Within the Field of Childhood Bereavement

It is commonly believed that grief is different for everyone and that we should not compare one child’s grief to another’s. Why can grief differ so much from one child to another, even within the same family system? When a child experiences a death loss, adults in their system may attribute a child’s thoughts and behaviors to being a “grief response” and center the child’s grief as their primary motivating factor. This unintentional oversimplification of what the child may be experiencing can make grief the only lens by which adults see children who are grieving. It can potentially harm a child’s health and well-being if supportive adults only see a child as a “single story.” This presentation will use the concept of intersectionality introduced by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw to help adults who support children see them as the complex, socially constructed people they are.

This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Objectives:

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Explain Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw’s concept of intersectionality.
Identify areas of their practice where intersectionality can be incorporated into their work with children who are grieving.
Create an intake process that uses principles of intersectionality to help portray a more complete picture of a grieving child.

Speaker Bios:

Adam W. Carter, Ph.D., is a professional counselor and counselor educator who received his doctoral degree in Counselor Education and Supervision, with an emphasis in multicultural counseling, from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Adam has taught courses in CACREP-accredited master’s level clinical mental health programs and doctoral-level courses in counselor education and supervision and served as the Trauma-Informed Counseling Graduate Certificate coordinator at Northern Illinois University. During his time at Northern Illinois University, he founded the Center for Grief and Loss at the University’s Community Counseling and Training Center, where he provided clinical supervision and education to counselors in training. Adam’s ongoing research and scholarship program focuses on early childhood grief responses and preparing counselors-in-training to work with grieving children. Adam’s scholarly work also includes numerous peer-reviewed presentations focusing on topics such as trauma-informed counseling, play therapy, and developing research skills in counseling practitioners. His clinical experience is broad, having worked as a counselor and supervisor in community mental health clinics, in-home intensive settings, community advocacy agencies, and private practice.

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

The Rhythm of Emotion: The Use of Music Therapy to Give Voice to Grieving Children & Adolescents

This presentation will explore the use of music therapy as a powerful tool for grieving children and adolescents. Participants will have the opportunity to gain information and knowledge about the interconnection between child and adolescent grief and music therapy, discover ways of incorporating music therapy techniques with this population through clinical examples and guided practice, and engage in music therapy experiences that may be used in self-exploration of their own grief journey.

This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support 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

Objectives:

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Define music therapy.
Discuss the role of music therapy in grief and bereavement.
Describe 3 music therapy experiences that can be used in child and adolescent grief.

Speaker Bios:

Amy Entwistle, MMT, MT-BC, a board-certified music therapist, is a Child and Adolescent Grief Coordinator at Four Seasons. Amy graduated with a bachelor’s degree in music performance with a minor in psychology from High Point University. She earned her Master of Music Therapy degree from Appalachian State University. She has worked as a hospice music therapist and bereavement counselor. Amy uses a body-mind-centered approach and various creative art modalities to meet the needs of grieving children, adolescents, and their families.

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

Write Your Heart Out: Self Expression to cope with grief, loss, trauma, & stress

The W.H.O. recently reported COVID-19 pandemic has caused a 25% increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression worldwide and called for all countries to step up mental health services and support. Additionally, the coronavirus and the public health measures designed to prevent its spread have been shown to have had a profound negative effect on many young people. Writing and poetry are powerful tools to help process and cope not only with COVID-19 effects, but also for helping those dealing with grief, loss, trauma, and stress management in general. Yet, children, teens, and the adults in their lives often avoid writing because they think they aren’t a “good writer”. Attend this workshop to help them learn tools to overcome that negative self-talk barrier. Apply the research about free-form writing to help children and teens have a positive impact on healing and the immune system. In this interactive lecture/discussion, experiential, and personal reflection workshop, we will explore and experience poetry and written activities. Caring professionals can use the activities to help families process their grief and trauma, improve coping, and prevent stress & burnout.

This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support 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

Objectives:

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Implement tools to identify and heal negative self-talk that interferes with writing and poetic expression
Utilize journaling/writing techniques to help with grief, loss, trauma, and stress.
Utilize poetry techniques to help with grief, loss, trauma, and stress.

Speaker Bios:

Michelle Post is a psychotherapist (LMFT) and coach in Los Angeles. She has specialized in grief since 2003. Her grief work has paralleled stress management teaching since 2000. Since 2007, she deepened focus on burnout prevention for professionals. In 2019, Michelle launched her own international business to coach others via live & online training, self-care retreats, and she travels to teach and consult. You can read more about her story and professional credentials at: www.PostInternationalInc.com and www.PostFamilyCounseling.com. Michelle uses transparency, vulnerability, and personal experience in her teaching like the fact that her friends have nicknamed her home, ‘The Magical Fun Palace.’

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

When Hearts are Stretched: Fostering Compassion Resilience Amidst a Pandemic

For many care providers, filling your own metaphorical cup is easier said than done. The spark that draws us to our work can begin to dim when faced with daily pressures and the mounting stress among our teams. Workplace dynamics, time pressures, personal stressors, and repeated immersion in tough stories can take a toll. Then – we find ourselves a second year into a global pandemic. What anchors us during these times? What tools keep difficult conversations constructive and help us to productively manage the expressed anger and stress of others? How can we continually regenerate ourselves, interact in ever-more effective ways, and set up systems for healthy workplaces? Too often, workplace wellness oversimplifies the complexity of systems. Together we’ll explore practical strategies related to individual employees, collegial dynamics, and larger work structures – with the goal of enhancing well-being and tools to address trauma and chronic stress. May you leave feeling inspired and empowered with tools to help you, your colleagues, and your employees keep on keeping on.

This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Counselors, Social workers, Bereavement support 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

Objectives:

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Identify impacts of pervasive exposure to stress and trauma.
Differentiate between individual, interpersonal, and organizational wellness strategies
Identify two tools to address chronic stress and grief amidst COVID.

Speaker Bios:

Tina Barrett, EdD, LCPC is the Co-founder and Executive Director of Tamarack Grief Resource Center in Montana. Strengthening and stabilizing individuals and families following profound loss through groups, camps, counseling, and workshops, Tina has spent the past 20 years specializing in outdoor-based grief support. She has trained and supervised grief group facilitators since 1997 with special attention to strengthening family-systems and trauma recovery. Dr. Tina Barrett leads workshops for grief professionals at national conferences including ADEC and NBCC, and serves on the Board of Advisors and as a Senior Consultant for TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors).

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

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Webinar

We know that grandparents enter situations of raising grandchildren for many different reasons including but not limited to drug use, overdose, and death of one or both parents. Please join us to hear from a panel of grandparents who are currently raising grandchildren. Hear from them about their success, their challenges, and advice that they have learned along the way.

Panel Facilitators:

Adam W. Carter, Ph.D. is the National Clinical Director for the NACG. He is a professional counselor and counselor educator who received his doctoral degree in Counselor Education and Supervision, with an emphasis in multicultural counseling, from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Adam has taught courses in CACREP accredited master’s level clinical mental health programs and doctoral level courses in counselor education and supervision and served as the Trauma-Informed Counseling Graduate Certificate coordinator at Northern Illinois University. During his time at Northern Illinois University, he founded the Center for Grief and Loss at the University’s Community Counseling and Training Center, where he provided clinical supervision and education to counselors in training. Adam has an ongoing program of research and scholarship that focuses on early childhood grief responses and preparing counselors-in-training to work with grieving children. Adam’s scholarly work also includes numerous peer-reviewed presentations focusing on topics such as trauma-informed counseling, play therapy, and developing research skills in counseling practitioners. His clinical experience is broad, having worked as a counselor and supervisor in community mental health clinics, in-home intensive settings, community advocacy agencies, and private practice. In 2014, Adam was one of two inaugural Scholars-in-Residence with the American Counseling Association and helped developed strategies for empowering clinicians to conduct single-subject design research in community settings. In the fall of 2020, Adam was acknowledged for his work in the field of grief counseling and death education by earning the designation of Fellow in Thanatology: Death, Dying, and Bereavement.

Kerry Bickford of Support After a Death by Overdose (SADOD) is a Grandparent Peer Grief Specialist with the Peer Support Community Partners. Kerry co-facilitates two groups (Nathan’s Circle and Consoling Partners) on Cape Cod. Her son, Nathan, died in August of 2018 and her work is dedicated to his memory and the memory of all others lost to substance use disorder.

Rebuilding & Reengaging: School-Based Grief Support Post Pandemic

We know the impact that COVID-19 has had on students’ social development, mental health, and academic progress. This experience has also significantly changed how our schools operate. Schools with high levels of grief that need support have competing priorities and limited staff capacity. This presentation will identify some of the various barriers to school-based grief programming and explore solutions to help programs rebuild their school-based grief support through engaging new school partners and re-engaging previous school partners.

This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Objectives:

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Discuss the changes and challenges in administering school-based grief programs.
Implement strategies to engage new school partners.
Discuss ways to renew and steward relationships with lapsed school and community connections.

Speaker Bios:

Elizabeth Carson is the State Outreach Manager at Kate’s Club. She works closely with the Program Director on KC Connects, the outreach program of Kate’s Club. As State Outreach Manager, Liz works to increase awareness of Kate’s Club within the broader Atlanta community, so that Kate’s Club can meet the needs of more grieving children in the Atlanta area. She also works to develop new partnerships with schools and community organizations, as well as to further engage existing Kate’s Club partnerships. Originally from Columbus, Georgia, Liz graduated from Emory University in May 2014 with a B.S. in Anthropology and Human Biology and a master’s in social work from the University of Florida in 2022. While enrolled at Emory, Liz was student director of the Emory chapter of Camp Kesem, a national organization that provides free camps for children coping with a parent’s cancer. She is also a graduate of Emory’s Community Building and Social Change Fellowship Program, where she worked within Atlanta communities on projects pertaining to asset-based community development. These experiences have made Liz a strong believer in the importance of peer support and community engagement.

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

Data and Evaluation Training Series #2: Program Evaluation Basics

Given limited resources and stretched capacity, data collection procedures and program evaluation strategies at the individual program level often fall short in terms of identifying gaps in service, areas for growth, and program impact. Today, philanthropic giving demands quantifiable return on investment in exchange for donations and grants. Combining nearly 20 years of experience in designing bereavement-focused evaluation protocols with the power of the CBEM, with philanthropic support provided by the New York Life Foundation and in collaboration with the National Alliance for Children’s Grief (NACG), Judi’s House/JAG Institute offers a series of free trainings to share best practices in data collection and program evaluation.

This workshop on Evaluation Basics will provide key information on what evaluation is and how participants can begin evaluating their programs. Presenters will discuss the purpose of evaluation, how it helps organizations in reaching goals, and why it’s important. The workshop will outline the two basic types of evaluation, what questions they answer, and what considerations should be made as organizations begin to evaluate. Presenters will review the core steps in conducting evaluation so participants will walk away with clear next steps for how to integrate evaluation into practice.

Objectives:

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Explain the purpose of program evaluation and why to evaluate.
List the two types of program evaluation (process and outcome).
Identify the 5 core steps of implementing evaluation (ask, plan, act, reflect, improve).

Speaker Bios:

Maria Bartini, PhD, is the Evaluation Manager at Judi’s House/JAG Institute. With a doctoral degree in Life-Span Developmental Psychology from the University of Georgia, she has over 20 years’ experience teaching research methods, statistics, and child development at the college level. In her academic career, she also conducted evaluation research in schools, colleges, and youth sports organizations with the overarching goal of improving the lives of children and adolescents. In addition to heading the organization’s Childhood Bereavement Changemaker Initiative, Maria contributes to the evaluation and research activities at Judi’s House. Her work focuses on building evaluation/data utilization capacity in the field of childhood bereavement and evaluating the impact of Judi’s House services. She can be reached at mariab@judishouse.org.

Jeff Lin, PhD, is the Director of Evaluation and Research of Judi’s House/JAG Institute. He has a passion for applying research evidence to develop public policies and practices that best serve the community. With decades of experience working in partnership with public and non-profit agencies, he has seen the impact that good research can have on people’s lives.

Jeff was a sociology professor for 15 years, focusing his research and teaching on addressing pressing public issues such as criminal justice and youth services reforms. This experience deeply informs his commitment to producing data and evidence that can help bereaved children and families.

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

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Using Fictional Characters to Help Children and Adolescents Who Are Grieving Live Interactive Webinar

Using Fictional Characters to Help Children and Adolescents Who Are Grieving Live Interactive Webinar

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

The Intersection of Domestic Violence and the Grieving Process of Children

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

Occupational Therapy’s Role in Supporting Children’s Grief: Tools, Sensory Strategies, and When to Refer

Handouts:

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

Centering Intersectionality Within the Field of Childhood Bereavement

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

Write Your Heart Out: Self Expression to cope with grief, loss, trauma, & stress

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

When Hearts are Stretched: Fostering Compassion Resilience Amidst a Pandemic

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Webinar

Panel Facilitators:

Rebuilding & Reengaging: School-Based Grief Support Post Pandemic

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

Data and Evaluation Training Series #2: Program Evaluation Basics

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

Resources & Support

Education

Explore our Education and CE opportunities:

Awareness

Grants

About Us

Using Fictional Characters to Help Children and Adolescents Who Are Grieving Live Interactive Webinar

Using Fictional Characters to Help Children and Adolescents Who Are Grieving Live Interactive Webinar

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

The Intersection of Domestic Violence and the Grieving Process of Children

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

Occupational Therapy’s Role in Supporting Children’s Grief: Tools, Sensory Strategies, and When to Refer

Handouts:

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

Centering Intersectionality Within the Field of Childhood Bereavement

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

The Rhythm of Emotion: The Use of Music Therapy to Give Voice to Grieving Children & Adolescents

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

Write Your Heart Out: Self Expression to cope with grief, loss, trauma, & stress

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

When Hearts are Stretched: Fostering Compassion Resilience Amidst a Pandemic

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Webinar

Panel Facilitators:

Rebuilding & Reengaging: School-Based Grief Support Post Pandemic

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

Data and Evaluation Training Series #2: Program Evaluation Basics

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

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