Centering Compassion Series | Holding Space for Ourselves: Cultivating Self-Compassion in Grief Support Work

Centering Compassion Series | Holding Space for Ourselves: Cultivating Self-Compassion in Grief Support Work

Professionals and volunteers who support grieving children and families often show up with deep empathy and open hearts—yet may find it difficult to extend the same care inward. This webinar explores the transformative power of self-compassion as a protective resource for those doing emotionally demanding work in the field of childhood bereavement.

Grounded in the research-based Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) program developed by Drs. Kristin Neff and Christopher Germer, this session will offer practical tools for responding to personal distress with kindness, reducing caregiver fatigue, and fostering emotional resilience. Participants will learn how self-compassion can strengthen their ability to stay present with grief—both their own and others’—without becoming overwhelmed or burned out.

Through a blend of guided practices, reflective exercises, and discussion, this webinar invites participants to explore how cultivating compassion for ourselves enhances our capacity to hold space for others. Whether you’re a counselor, social worker, educator, or volunteer, this session will support your ongoing journey of sustainable, heart-centered service.

 

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 →

 

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

Centering Compassion Series:

 

Objectives:

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

  • Recognize the role of self-compassion in grief work and emotional resilience
  • Identify common barriers to self-kindness among helping professionals
  • Practice core self-compassion techniques applicable in daily life and work
  • Understand how mindful awareness supports healthy emotional boundaries

 

Speaker Bio:

Vira Salzburn, MS, MSc, is a certified teacher of Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) with extensive experience delivering evidence-based compassion training to individuals, educators, healthcare professionals, and community leaders. With a professional background in trauma-informed care, public health, and behavioral science, Vira integrates MSC practices into resilience-building programs that promote emotional wellbeing, reduce burnout, and strengthen communities.

Vira holds a Master of Science in Management and Organizational Leadership from Troy University and a Graduate Certificate in Human Behavior from Harvard University Extension School. In addition to her role as Executive Director at Chatham County Safety Net Planning Council, she serves as a trusted trainer and speaker on topics related to self-compassion, mindfulness, and resilience. Her teaching is known for being practical, heartfelt, and deeply human—offering participants tools to meet life’s challenges with kindness, courage, and clarity.

Centering Compassion Series | Light on the Dark Side of the Street: Living Well in a Loss and Trauma World

We were educated and trained in how to help grieving children and adults, but most of us had little training and preparation about how to live in healthy ways while being exposed to grief and loss on a daily basis. We often were left to develop our coping with little guidance or support. There are, however, ways of framing and approaching our work in helping those who grieve that support both ourselves and the people we serve. Too often our short-term coping strategies have created problems for coping in the long-term. Engaging too deeply leads to overwhelm and burnout. Distancing too much decreases our effectiveness and prevents us from the benefits of compassion satisfaction. In this webinar, we will explore ways to think about and do our work better for both ourselves and those we serve.

 

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

Centering Compassion Series:

 

Objectives:

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

  • Describe the relationships of intentionality, sustainability, and practice to self-stewardship
  • Identify health-promoting cognitive reframing responses to stress and suffering
  • Compare and contrast concepts of compassion, empathy, empathic strain, and burnout

 

Speaker Bio:

Greg Adams, LCSW, ACSW, FT, is Program Coordinator for the Center for Good Mourning and Staff Bereavement Support at Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH). Greg has worked at ACH in a variety of roles and areas, including pediatric oncology and palliative care, since 1991. He is an adjunct professor with the University of Arkansas-Little Rock and has been an active volunteer with community and professional organizations. He is also author of Adam Gets Back in the Game, a children’s storybook about coping with grief and loss. He is married with two adult children.

 

Continuing Education (CE) Provider Information →

Courageous Well-being: Strategies for Personal and Professional Renewal

Coping and self-confidence in your work require taking the time to understand the evidence-based literature and use effective strategies to enhance your well-being, find meaning in your work and discover joy and support in relationships. This session will explore the essence of courageous well-being. Based on evidence-based strategies, attendees will explore nontraditional approaches to minimize the consequences of stress and trauma—through nature, the arts, and creativity as indispensable wellsprings of respite and joy. The profound healing effects of advocacy for health and well-being are also introduced. Attendees will receive several handouts with practices and guides for use in their work and home lives.

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.

 

Objectives:

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

  • Discuss how working with bereaved children and their families can put professionals and volunteers at risk for empathic distress fatigue, vicarious grief, ongoing stress, or burnout.
  • Describe the six elements of psychological well-being.
  • Explore how trauma and vicarious grief are carried in our bodies, hearts, and minds and the strategies used to manage the consequences of their work.

 

Speaker Bio:

Donna Gaffney, DNSc, PMHCNS-BC, FAAN, an advanced practice nurse-psychotherapist, author and educator, works with individuals, communities, and professional nurses in the aftermath of personal and national crises — 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the Coronavirus pandemic. Donna provides pro-bono psychotherapy through the Emotional PPE Project and facilitates Virtual Schwartz Rounds for the New Jersey Nursing Emotional Well-Being Institute. With extensive experience in classroom, experiential and online education, she offers workshops, presentations and webinars nationally and internationally. Donna has taught and directed graduate programs at the International Trauma Studies Program, Columbia and Seton Hall Universities. Her webinar series at the beginning of the pandemic, Healing Ourselves, While Healing Others, was offered through Rutgers University School of Nursing and the Northeastern University School Health Academy. In addition to academic papers, book chapters, and articles for the lay press, Donna is the author of The Seasons of Grief, Helping Children Grow Through Loss. Donna holds graduate degrees from Columbia and Rutgers Universities, and the University of Pennsylvania. She received the 2021 APNA Award for Excellence in Practice – APRN. In 2023 her book Courageous Well-Being for Nurses will be published by Johns Hopkins University Press.

 

Nicole C. Foster, MA, NBC-HWC is a national board-certified health and wellness coach, consultant, and writer. She is Head of Coaching at Lief Therapeutics, a start-up that offers the only mental health wearable device using HRV-Biofeedback. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, she self-published an eBook, Well-Being in the Waiting: Finding Presence During Unprecedented Times, and provided complimentary copies to healthcare workers. Nicole collaborates with the With Grace Initiative, a non-profit organization supporting children with cancer, providing pro-bono workshops that promote connection, support, and psychosocial education in their Warriors of Wellness series.

She is a graduate of Columbia University’s Spirituality, Mind-Body Institute and holds a Master of Arts in Psychology. Her personal essays surrounding the loss of her father in the terrorist attacks of 9/11 have been published in New York Magazine and Maria Shriver’s Sunday Paper. She is the co-author of Courageous Well-Being for Nurses, to be published by Johns Hopkins University Press in September 2023. Learn more about her work at www.NicoleCFoster.com and @NicoleCFoster on Instagram.

 

New York Life Foundation logo

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

 

It’s Complicated: Processing grief when relationships are difficult, estranged, or unrecognized

*This playback is available to active NACG Members Only.

Keeping it Real: Expectations for Ourselves and Our Children During a Global Pandemic