Introduction to Grief Support Series | When One Grieves, We All Grieve: Family Systems-Informed Strategies for Grief Support

Introduction to Grief Support Series | When One Grieves, We All Grieve: Family Systems-Informed Strategies for Grief Support

This webinar is part of an ongoing series that will provide a foundation of introductory information for anyone working with or providing support to children, teens, and families who may be grieving. This series is not progressive; sessions can be viewed in any order.

When one member of a family is grieving, the entire system feels the ripple. Family systems theory reminds us that families don’t just contain grief—they express it, shape it, and sometimes even silence it across generations. For grief professionals, recognizing these dynamics opens the door to more holistic and sustainable healing.

This interactive, intermediate-level workshop explores strategies rooted in family systems theory. Through reflection, dialogue, and experiential activities, participants will learn to recognize family patterns, support healthier communication, explore intergenerational grief, foster flexibility in disrupted roles, and build rituals that honor culture and memory. They will leave with adaptable strategies for diverse settings and a renewed lens for seeing grief as a collective journey.

members only iconThis playback is available to active NACG members only.

Members must be logged into the member portal to access the playback. Not currently a member? 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 →

 

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Students, interns, individuals entering the field of childhood bereavement, new staff members, new counselors, group facilitators, volunteers, anyone who wants to invest in their practice.
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 and describe common grief roles within families and their impact on the system.
  • Apply family systems–informed strategies to strengthen communication and boundaries in grieving families.
  • Facilitate rituals and practices that promote shared meaning-making across diverse cultural contexts.

 

Speaker Bios:

Annette Mendez is a certified grief educator through David Kessler and the Training & Curriculum Manager at Good Grief. Raised in Newark as a first-generation college graduate, she earned her B.A. in Human Development and Family Studies from Montclair State University and a Master’s Certification in Developmental Models for Autism Intervention. Annette is also a Certified Child Development Specialist, with experience as an educator and as Special Services/Mental Health Coordinator for Head Start programs in Morris County. She brings both professional expertise and lived experience to her work with grieving families.

Ariana Locascio is the Senior Family Services Manager at Good Grief. She has experience in hospital, mental health, and nonprofit settings, including work as a Child Life Specialist and Case Manager. A former volunteer facilitator at Good Grief, she joined the staff in 2021. In her current role, she orients new families, facilitates groups, and supervises staff, serving as the first point of contact for families beginning their grief journey. Ariana’s passion is helping others and building supportive spaces where healing is possible.

 

Introduction to Grief Support Series | Create Engaging and Meaningful Activities for Individual and Group Grief Support

The development of activities that effectively address the topic of grief aids in the retainment of grief-related education. The incorporation of activities can enhance the learning, growth, and connection that grief support provides. Participants will learn how to design and implement activities that are both interactive and therapeutic, as well as see examples. In addition, they will better understand the importance of incorporating current interests of youth into the activities for further engagement. Attendees will explore the various types of activities, including physical activities, artistic expression, and mindful practices. Also, participants will learn various ways to measure the effectiveness of their activities in age-appropriate ways. The session will equip attendees with the knowledge, tools, and strategies needed to enhance their grief care by incorporating activities into grief support.

members only iconThis playback is available to active NACG members only.

Members must be logged into the member portal to access the playback. Not currently a member? 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 →

 

Continuing Education (CE) credits are not available for webinar playbacks.
Target Audience: Students, interns, individuals entering the field of childhood bereavement, new staff members, new counselors, group facilitators, volunteers, anyone who wants to invest in their practice.
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:

  • Develop interactive activities for children and teenagers that facilitate productive discussion.
  • Identify relevant trends and interests of youth to incorporate into activities and maximize engagement.
  • Create activities that foster expression by incorporating various art mediums and levels of instruction.
  • Apply developmentally appropriate modifications to activities to maximize comprehension and effectiveness.
  • Utilize a variety of activity types to ensure different types of learners are engaged.

 

Speaker Bios:

Laurel Neitling joined the team in July 2023 as the Circles of Hope Program Manager. She previously graduated from Central Michigan University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and minor in management, and she graduated with an MBA from Western Governor’s University in 2024. She previously volunteered with New Hope as a support group facilitator. She experienced the loss of her father as a young child, and that led to a passion for helping bereaved families get the support they need. Laurel has presented at numerous Grief Sensitivity Training sessions and the 2024 NACG Grief Conference. Laurel has had the privilege of watching many of our participants grow through their grief journeys, and she is grateful to work alongside such dedicated volunteers and staff members to offer grief support services to the bereaved.

 

Supporting Widowed Parents, Strengthening Families: A Holistic Approach to Grief

This webinar will focus on the psychosocial functioning of parents who have lost a spouse or partner and are raising children on their own.  The presenter will provide an overview of relevant research, insights from support groups specifically for widowed parents will be shared, and recommendations for how to support parents in ways that are also healthy for the grieving child.

 

members only iconThis playback is available to active NACG members only.

Members must be logged into the member portal to access the playback. Not currently a member? 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 →

 

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:

  • Summarize research findings relevant to this population
  • Understand the unique challenges facing widowed parents
  • Intervene with grieving families in ways that support widowed parents

 

Speaker Bio:

Justin Yopp, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the UNC Chapel Hill.  Dr. Yopp co-directs the Widowed Parent Program, which provides support for and conducts research with parents who have lost a spouse or partner and are raising children on their own.  Dr. Yopp has run support groups for the population for nearly 15 years. He co-authored The Group: Seven Widowed Fathers Reimagine Life, which was published by Oxford University Press in 2018. Prior to joining the faculty at UNC, Dr. Yopp served as a psychologist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee.

 

New York Life Foundation logo

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

 

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information →

Creating the Container for Us: How to Hold Space for Ourselves & Each Other After Student Death

How might we build our skills and visions for how we will come together as staff after student loss? How might we make sense of school-based loss, and how that informs who we are as administrators, educators, clinicians, and youth advocates?

When students die, we understandably and necessarily mobilize to support our surviving students, their peers, and the connected community. We tend to assume, however, that the staff doing that mobilization are ok, and/or we forget to create space to make sense of what just happened  (let alone for what happened months ago, or even years ago).

The task of creating and holding space for the adult staff in a school, system, division, or organization after a student death is one that we, as administrators, staff, and school leadership, rarely get support with. Join SCRR for a dynamic session on how to facilitate space-holding for educators after a student dies, & the role of collective rituals in processing.

Participants will learn how to organize a gathering and the ins and outs of holding space: from how to structure a gathering to how to care for yourself and others to what to do when things go awry. You’ll also have a chance to experience a space for educator communal care firsthand and to share and reflect on your own experiences of loss and life after.

Download the Slides →

Download the Handout →

 

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 →

 

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:

  • Hold space for educators to connect and share about what it means to teach, lead school sites or systems, and provide school services after the death of a student or alum.
  • Identify approaches that create intentional, peer-led spaces for educators to engage in conversation around their experience with death-related, school-based losses as a means towards healing.
  • Explore evidence-based research on the specific impact of engaging in rituals collectively as opposed to individually.
  • Engage in reflective practice that in itself allows you to better lead your community and team.

 

Speaker Bios:

Leora Wolf-Prusan, EdD, serves as the Project Director for the School Crisis Recovery & Renewal project and as the School Mental Health field director for the Pacific Southwest Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC), in addition to many other facilitation projects. Previous roles include a national field director of a SAMHSA initiative (ReCAST) and technical assistance for the Student Mental Health Program for California’s Community Colleges, CalWORKs, and more.  With years of training and facilitating learning and community building in schools p-16, Wolf-Prusan is skilled in facilitation, human learning design, training, and coaching. Wolf-Prusan is dedicated to work focused on educator mental health, wellness, and trauma-informed approaches to education and operates through a framework in which public health, social work, and education intersect. Her research examined the impact of student death on teachers, what factors contribute to teachers building resiliency, and what supports teachers need from the school system in the event of a student homicide or other traumas. She received a BA in international relations and a BA in Spanish with a minor in Social & Ethnic Relations from the University of California, Davis; a teaching credential from Mills College; and an EdD in educational leadership from UCLA.

Oriana Idea, MA, LPCCI, PPS, is the School Mental Health Training Specialist at CARS, who approaches healing the wounds of trauma and oppression as core elements of social justice.  She has worked with young people across life course from elementary school to college, and has served as teacher-leader, school counselor, classroom educator and program director.  She is committed to generating equity within school structures and policies by focusing on evidence-based mental health techniques and institutional design.

 

New York Life Foundation logo

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