Supporting Adolescents and Young Adults in Their Grief Journey

This engaging presentation will provide helpful strategies when working with adolescents and young adults who are grieving the death of a loved one. We will discuss grief reactions and changes in family dynamics, as well as ways to promote supportive relationships. We will examine interactive activities and creative approaches in young adult programming.

This 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 the audience likely has a theoretical foundation for understanding and/or working knowledge.
Format: Live Interactive Webinar

Objectives:

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Describe helpful strategies when working with adolescents and young adults who have experienced a death.
Identify various creative activities that are helpful when working with young adults.
Create various interactive activities for young adult programming.

Speaker Bios:

Dana Minor is the Program Director at The WARM Place, a grief support center for children, in Fort Worth, TX. She started at The WARM Place in 1994 and has served as a houseparent, facilitator, monitor, and group director. Dana has over 25 years of experience working in children’s bereavement and began her work at El Tesoro de la Vida Grief Camp. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor and Certified School Counselor. Dana served on the Speaker’s Bureau for the National Center for Youth Issues and has taught a variety of courses in the field of psychology at Tarrant County College.

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

Terrific or Terrifying? How to Engage Tweens in a Peer Support Grief Group

Are you afraid of tweens? There seems to be a universal belief that they are a bit of an anomaly. They lie in this no man’s land between child and teen. Their peers are the mirror they hold up to themselves and so is society and social media. The adolescent is trying to discover who they are as an individual while fiercely craving to fit in with their cohorts. Grief is a deeply personal and complex emotional process that can profoundly impact adolescents’ lives, relationships, and academic performance. When you combine the awkwardness of being a tween and grief, you’ve got a recipe for a complicated population of grievers. By gaining a better understanding of the unique challenges faced by grieving middle schoolers, we can offer the support and resources to help them navigate through this difficult journey. This presentation identifies the developmental and social factors that come into play for adolescents and how those may impact peer support group dynamics. Participants have the opportunity to integrate this knowledge into action by practicing activities that can foster engagement and connection among tweens in peer support groups.

This playback is available to active NACG members only.

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 developmental factors that influence a middle school-aged child’s grieving process.
Restate the relation of development to social factors and how they impact the peer support dynamic.
Demonstrate activities that can be adapted to a peer support grief group for middle school-aged children.

Speaker Bios:

Mimi Dambro, MSW, LSW, has been the Assistant Director of Programs at Peter’s Place: A Center for Grieving Children & Families for the past 3 years. Through her experience, she has run onsite and school-based peer support groups for children ages four through high school as well as groups for adult caregivers. In addition to her facilitation experience, Mimi has created numerous curriculums, grief modules, and activity book bags for middle school and high school aged youth. Prior to her time at Peter’s Place, Mimi worked with children and families at the University of Pennsylvania’s Interdisciplinary Child Advocacy Clinic working with youth in foster care. She has spent time as well working for Child Guidance Resource Centers in their school-based program working with children grades kindergarten through 8th grade. Mimi is a licensed social worker who earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Bloomsburg University and her master’s degree in Social work from the University of Pennsylvania. Mimi’s passion for supporting youth and families is what connects her to working in the realm of childhood bereavement.

Pat Wong Connolly, LCSW, CT, is an Onsite Group Facilitator at Peter’s Place: A Center for Grieving Children & Families, located in Radnor, PA and serving the Greater Philadelphia area. Her work focuses on developing and facilitating peer support groups for children and caregivers as well as designing and implementing volunteer training. She has over 10 years of experience working with various populations in bereavement, private practice and higher education settings. Pat earned her master’s degree in college counseling and student development from the University of Delaware and her master’s in social services from Bryn Mawr College. She is a licensed clinical social worker and certified thanatologist, who maintains a private practice, supporting individuals through grief and life transitions.

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

Silent Suffering: Supporting Youth Grieving Stigmatized Loss

This session will focus on supporting individuals who have experienced a stigmatized loss, including loss by suicide, homicide, and addiction. Presenters will review grief occurrence data for children and youth, along with practical understandings of relevant grief theories to guide practice with this bereaved population. As stigmatized loss is often accompanied by feelings of shame, guilt, and anger, it is vital for those working in the field to better understand the impact of stigmatized grief and loss on children and families. Several of the challenging components of working with those bereaved by stigmatized loss will be explored. Presenters will discuss important therapeutic techniques, interventions, and conversations for youth and caregivers, including best practices for helping children understand death by suicide, homicide, and/or addiction. Stigmatized losses often occur after traumatic lives. Therefore, aspects of understanding the impact of trauma on youth will also be explored. Presenters will provide several opportunities for experiential learning as we discuss and practice activity and body-based interventions for children and families. Finally, attendees will be provided with a multitude of resources to better understand and work with stigmatized loss and continue to inform practice.

This playback is available to active NACG members only.

Objectives:

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

Define stigmatized loss.
Identify at least two theories of grief that can be adapted to work with a population bereaved by stigmatized loss.
Utilize two body-based interventions for traumatic loss in children and youth.
Identify best practices to discuss stigmatized loss with youth.
Identify two online resources for further information on stigmatized loss faced by children and families.

Speaker Bios:

Jodi Flesner, Ph.D., LPC, is a clinical supervisor, licensed therapist, and program coordinator at Heartlinks Grief Center. Jodi completed her master’s degree in Community Counseling at Loyola University Chicago in 2007 and her doctoral degree in Counselor Education and Supervision from the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 2015. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor in both Illinois and Missouri. Jodi has worked at Heartlinks for seven years where she conducts individual and family counseling, group counseling, community outreach to support those grieving in the community, and various grief support groups at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Prior to that she worked as a doctoral intern at hospice for two years where she conducted individual and family bereavement support services, group counseling, and counseling at multiple grief/bereavement retreats and camps. She has taught multiple master’s level counseling courses, published a peer-reviewed article titled, “A Shift in the Conceptual Understanding of Grief: Using Meaning-Oriented Therapies with Bereaved Clients,” and completed multiple presentations in the area of bereavement including grief and coping in caregivers, theories of grief over time, exploring stigmatized loss, the importance of meaning making after a death loss, and the importance of infusing death education into counseling programs.

Diana Cuddeback, LCSW, is the Founding Director of Heartlinks Grief Center in Belleville, Illinois. Since her first Children’s Grief Group in 1991, Diana has provided children, families, and individuals innovative grief programming. Heartlinks serves individuals of all ages before and after a loss due to death. Diana and the Heartlinks team, provide individual and family counseling, grief support groups, as well as portable grief outreach programs and grief education. Diana’s mission is to create a meaningful community of support for grieving people filled with learning, activity, fun and connection. Diana is an experienced presenter who has presented on a variety of topics including children’s grief, traumatic loss and coping, stigmatized loss and the impact on children and families, and the various impacts of addiction-related loss, among others.

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

Facilitating Parent and Caregiver Support Groups

Many children’s bereavement centers and programs across the United States offer concurrent support groups for parents and caregivers that are typically held during the same time as children and teen grief support groups are being offered. This presentation will cover practical tips for facilitating grief support groups for parents, caregivers, and other adults. Best practices for running adult groups will be discussed, including group dynamics, group cohesion, and protecting the process. Additional topics include managing conflict and navigating challenging behaviors in groups, such as advice-giving, monopolizing, interrupting, or one-upping. Suggestions for effective ways to handle controversial topics when they arise in group will also be discussed. This presentation will include a discussion about providing grief support to parents and caregivers in a group setting while also providing helpful information to them about their children’s grief. Effective openings and closings will also be presented in this workshop. There will be plenty of time for questions and discussion.

This playback is available to active NACG members only.

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:

List best practices for running parent and caregiver bereavement support groups.
Identify challenging behaviors that arise in adult support groups and effective ways to handle them.
Discuss effective ways to protect the process and manage conflict in a bereavement group for parents and caregivers.

Speaker Bio:

Pamela Gabbay, EdD, FT is a nationally recognized trainer and consultant who has served the bereavement field in many capacities during her 25-year career. Dr. Gabbay is currently the Director of Operations and Training for The Compassionate Friends and is on the TAPS Advisory Board. She is part of the training corps of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP). Dr. Gabbay has served in a variety of roles including being the Director of The Mourning Star Center for Grieving Children and Camp Erin, Palm Springs. Dr. Gabbay is the co-author, along with Andy McNiel, of Understanding and Supporting Bereaved Children: A Practical Guide for Professionals. She is on the Executive Committee of ADEC’s Credentialing Council and served as the President of the Southern California Chapter of ADEC. Additionally, Dr. Gabbay previously served as Vice President on the Board of the NACG. She was also an adjunct faculty member in the psychology department at Brandman University. Dr. Gabbay holds a Fellow in Thanatology (FT) from the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) and earned a Master of Arts degree in Cognitive Psychology from Claremont Graduate University. She earned her Doctor of Education degree in Organizational Leadership from Brandman University.

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.

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:

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.

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.

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:

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 Schneider, LCSW | Clinical Director of Child and Adolescent Programs
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 Christ, MA | Associate Clinical Coordinator of School & Children’s Programs
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.

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.

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:

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

*This playback is available to active NACG Members Only.

After a Suicide: Helping Children, Adolescents, and Teens

*This playback is available to active NACG Members Only.

Drum It Out!

*This playback is available to active NACG Members Only.

Resources & Support

Education

Explore our Education and CE opportunities:

Awareness

Grants

About Us

Supporting Adolescents and Young Adults in Their Grief Journey

Supporting Adolescents and Young Adults in Their Grief Journey

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

Silent Suffering: Supporting Youth Grieving Stigmatized Loss

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

Facilitating Parent and Caregiver Support Groups

Objectives:

Speaker Bio:

Rebuilding & Reengaging: School-Based Grief Support Post Pandemic

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

Partnering with Schools to Support Grieving Children

To access documents provided by the presenters click HERE and HERE.

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

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

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

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

After a Suicide: Helping Children, Adolescents, and Teens

Drum It Out!

Resources & Support

Education

Explore our Education and CE opportunities:

Awareness

Grants

About Us

Supporting Adolescents and Young Adults in Their Grief Journey

Supporting Adolescents and Young Adults in Their Grief Journey

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

Terrific or Terrifying? How to Engage Tweens in a Peer Support Grief Group

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

Silent Suffering: Supporting Youth Grieving Stigmatized Loss

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

Facilitating Parent and Caregiver Support Groups

Objectives:

Speaker Bio:

Rebuilding & Reengaging: School-Based Grief Support Post Pandemic

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

Partnering with Schools to Support Grieving Children

To access documents provided by the presenters click HERE and HERE.

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

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

Objectives:

Speaker Bios:

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

After a Suicide: Helping Children, Adolescents, and Teens

Drum It Out!

Sign Up for Our Newsletter & Updates

Sign Up for
Our Newsletter & Updates