Grief and Bereavement of Children with Intellectual Disabilities: Current Research and Practice

Grief and Bereavement of Children with Intellectual Disabilities: Current Research and Practice

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.

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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: 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:

  • Describe ways that children with ID understand and process a loss
  • Provide examples of how children with ID engage in Caring Connections
  • Demonstrate developmentally inclusive support strategies

 

Speaker Bios:

Arlen Gaines, PhD, MSW, LCSW-C, LICSW, APHSW-C, is a psychosocial leader in the field of palliative care and hospice, providing system-wide leadership to social workers in palliative care at MedStar Health. Over close to 20 years of caring for patients and their families with serious illness and at the end of life, she developed a specialization in supporting individuals with developmental disabilities in their grief and speaks nationally on this subject. She is the co-author of the award-winning I Have a Question series, which addresses complex topics for children, inclusive of those with developmental disabilities, such as I Have a Question about Death and I Have a Question about Cancer. As the first social worker in the inaugural doctoral program in Palliative Care at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, she completed her dissertation research on the grief and bereavement experiences of children with intellectual disabilities.

 

New York Life Foundation logo

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

 

 

A Win-Win: Utilizing Interns to Support Your Agency While Training Future Grief Professionals

The students of today will soon become your employees and colleagues of tomorrow. Interns can provide a critical resource for agencies to enhance current efforts, grow, and develop new strategies; they also provide a way for your agency to develop competent professionals and “pay it forward”. Join us for this collaborative session to explore ways to capitalize on the energy, creativity, and passion of student interns. Explore ways to deepen academic partnerships, recruit students, and develop robust training and supervision strategies to ensure a win-win for agencies and students alike. Whether you are just getting started or have been supervising students for years, everyone is welcome to join this conversation. Brought to you by two interns-turned-employees, now working as agency and university professionals, and one of their former practicum students!

 

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: 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:

  • Implement strategies to recruit academic partners and student interns.
  • Assess agency’s capacity, strengths, and needs for student interns.
  • Integrate best practices for training and supervising student interns.

 

Speaker Bios:

Jennifer Wiles, MA, LMHC, BC-DMT is the Director of Children’s Services for Beth Israel Lahey Health at Home in Wayland, MA. She is the director of Camp Erin Boston and HEARTplay, a bereavement program for children, teens and young adults of all abilities in the greater Boston area Her current work focuses on Expanding the Language of Grief, which strives to make bereavement support available to those who are marginalized with limited access to services. Jennifer is a board-certified dance movement therapist/licensed mental health counselor and is on the adjunct faculty of Lesley University’s Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences where she also serves as a clinical site supervisor.

Cathy Fox, MSW serves as Assistant Professor and Field Education Director for the Social Work Program at Creighton University. As an alum of the program herself, she enjoys educating and supporting students as they prepare to become future helping professionals. Prior to moving to academia, she served over eight years as the Program Director and Director of Operations at Grief’s Journey, a grief center in Omaha, Nebraska. The majority of her research and practice is in the field of grief and loss, grounded in trauma, child development, and family systems, with a strong background in mental health and suicide. Cathy currently serves on the Program Committee for Mourning Hope, a grief center in Lincoln, Nebraska, and is an active member of the National Alliance for Grieving Children.

Erin Spalding LCSW, Program Director joined The Christi Center in 2007. She earned her Bachelor’s in Psychology and her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Texas. She has worked in a variety of social service settings including, support for the HIV/AIDS and LGBT communities, case management, counseling for youth with developmental disorders, and hospice. Her clinical experience has focused on providing services for kids, teens, and minority populations, particularly in the areas of grief and loss. Her job duties include outreach, program management, program enrichment, crisis intervention, community trainings, intern supervision, and group facilitation.

 

New York Life Foundation logo

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

Kicking Off Spanish-Language Programs

*This playback is available to active NACG Members Only.