Crossing the Grief Bridge: Supporting Siblings Coping with Loss

Sibling loss can have a significant impact on children. Children may struggle to understand why their sibling has died, and they may feel responsible or blame themselves for what happened. The loss of a sibling can also affect a child’s sense of identity and place within their family. They may feel like they have lost a part of themselves and struggle to navigate their new role in the family dynamic. This experiential workshop will allow attendees to learn a new therapeutic activity that can be used for siblings individually or within a group. Through the metaphor of crossing over a wooden bridge with planks representing struggles and hopes, attendees will have a deeper understanding of their grief journey. After self-reflection and discussion, attendees can facilitate this therapeutic activity with a diverse population coping with grief and loss.

Materials needed for this webinar include:

Preferably different-colored popsicle sticks. If those aren’t available, regular popsicle sticks with several different colored markers will work as well.
A hot glue gun or craft glue.
A large piece of cardstock or cardboard.
A small paper bowl.

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:

Identify grief reactions in children coping with sibling loss.
Demonstrate self-reflection skills to deepen the learning process.
Create a therapeutic activity allowing children to process, explore, and express grief.

Speaker Bios:

Shani Thornton, MS, CCLS, has been a Certified Child Life Specialist for 17 years. She started her career in a pediatric inpatient rehabilitation setting, transitioned to the community, and launched a private practice in the Sacramento region of Northern California. Shani supports families coping with life’s challenges of illness, trauma, loss, and transitions. Using therapeutic play, creative arts, education, and empathy, she helps children process these challenges and create a coping plan to support their needs. She offers in-home visits, phone/virtual consultations, caregiver workshops, and support to community programs, hospice agencies, and schools. Shani’s expertise has been working with families coping with a terminal diagnosis, end-of-life support, and grief. She recently co-authored a chapter on private practice in The Role of Child Life Specialists in Community Settings. She has been a chair member of the Association of Child Life Professionals and the California Association of Play Therapy and volunteers as a burn camp leader for the Firefighters Burn Institute. Shani is a sought-after presenter for many local, regional, and national conferences and reaches many followers through her insightful blogs and publications.

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

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.

Connect, Build, and Grow! Combining group work, play therapy and Lego building to explore grief

Discover how building Legos can also build social-emotional well-being! This interactive workshop focuses on the use of Lego-based therapeutic interventions for exploring grief. Participants will learn about the “Skillful Builders” model and will explore the benefits of group play therapy to better understand and cope with grief. Participants will also learn therapeutic techniques for implementing Lego-based play into individual and group therapy sessions.

This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Objectives:

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Explain how to plan and conduct group session using Lego based activities and grief interventions.
Identify three (3) prominent dynamics in play therapy groups which support grieving children.
Describe two (2) grounding skills and two (2) containment skills that can be implemented in group.

Speaker Bios:

Stephanie Heitkemper, MA MFT, LPC, RPT, FT specializes in working with children and families around change including grief, trauma, and transition. Stephanie finds energy in utilizing play, creative expression and bibliotherapy in her practice and program creation. Stephanie is the owner of Resilient Minds Counseling, PLLC in the Denver Metro area and the Camp Therapist for Camp Jojo. Camp Jojo focus’ on supporting teens who have been impacted by suicide in a unique model that weaves mental health education along hands on adventure.

Meredith Hammond, MA, LPC, RPT-S is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Registered Play Therapist Supervisor with a private practice in Northglenn, Colorado. Meredith holds a post-graduate certificate in Marriage and Family Therapy, is trained in EMDR I/II and Brainspotting. For Meredith, play therapy is a passion and she seeks to incorporate the healing power of play into her work with clients of all ages. Meredith’s passion about family and play continue outside the office, as she avidly enjoys running and enjoying the outdoors with her three sons and husband.

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

Peer Deaths: Supporting Students Grieving within the context of Racial Trauma & during COVID-19