Partnering with Schools to Support Grieving Children
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures and during the pandemic, OUR HOUSE had to pivot several times to meet the urgent need for grief support services in our heavily impacted community. Since 1997 we have provided school-based grief support groups in the second largest district in the nation but found ourselves needing to find new ways to do this first virtually and then when schools reopened Fall 2021 with stringent safety measures for providers coming on campus. In addition, we were tasked with finding ways to support grieving school professionals and equip them to support the students on their campuses within the scope of their roles. In this workshop we will share lessons learned building relationships with school districts, designing evidence-based curricula, supporting grieving school faculty and equipping school mental health clinicians with tools to use in school-based counseling sessions with grieving children. We will also look at the needs of volunteers leaning on staff while readjusting to the demands of providing grief support services in the pandemic and beyond.
To access documents provided by the presenters click HERE and HERE.
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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 two strategies to use to support school professionals
- Identify four goals when designing curricula for use in school-based programs.
- Identify two ways to build relationships with the schools in your area.
Speaker Bios:
Lauren, a nationally recognized expert on Child & Adolescent Grief, has directed the Children’s Programs for OUR HOUSE Grief Support Center for 18 years. In that role, Lauren provides training for mental health clinicians, educators, clergy, health care providers and graduate students throughout the community equipping them to work with grieving clients. Lauren is the author of “Children Grieve Too: A Handbook for Parents of Grieving Children” and contributing author of “You Can’t Do It Alone: A Widow’s Journey through Grief and Life After”. She also created “My Memory Book…for grieving children”. Lauren is an Associate Producer of “One Last Hug…and a few smooches” an Emmy award-winning HBO documentary about children’s Grief. Lauren is the recipient of the 2017 Dr. Michael Durfee Award and the 2014 H.U.G. award. In her free time Lauren enjoys playing with her grandsons, cooking and nature walks. Lauren maintains a private practice in Los Angeles specializing in grief and trauma.
Carolyn is an Associate Marriage & Family Therapist working with children, adolescents, and families who seek services through OUR HOUSE. She completed her undergraduate work in Psychology from Portland State University and her master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University Los Angeles, with an emphasis on Psychological Trauma Studies. Carolyn is the coordinator of the OUR HOUSE School Program and coordinates in-house children’s groups for the West LA office. She collaborates with school personnel and district officials to continue to grow the school-based grief support program and deepen school partnerships. Carolyn also maintains a small therapy practice with adult clients in West LA, and prior to joining the OUR HOUSE team, she volunteered with Children’s Healing Art Project (CHAP) in Portland, Oregon, supporting children and families facing medical hardship through creative arts.
Supported by the philanthropic investment
of the New York Life Foundation.
This playback is available to active NACG members only.
