Neurodiversity and Childhood Bereavement

Neurodiversity and Childhood Bereavement

Neurodiversity affirms cognitive diversity, opposes the view that there is one “normal” type of cognitive functioning, and reduces stigma for folx who identify as neurodiverse. Nevertheless, there has been a lack of research on the intersection of neurodiversity and childhood grief. Grief support for children has not adequately addressed how neurodiverse children and adolescents may experience and respond to loss. This training seeks to provide definitions and examples of neurodiversity. In addition, this training seeks to equip those who attend with skills and knowledge to integrate neuro-diverse affirming practices into bereavement support for children and adolescents. There has been a lack of research on how neurodiverse children and adolescents encounter and experience loss. In this training, the concept of neurodiversity will be explored in depth. Subsequently, attendees will be provided with information on how neurodiverse children and adolescents may not fit traditional paradigms of grief which have focused solely on emotional processing. Lastly, attendees will be given a wide range of practical tools that will equip them to integrate neuro-diverse affirming practices into their clinical work.

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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:

  • Define their understanding of neurodiversity.
  • Restate the unique challenges neurodiverse children and adolescents face.
  • Describe how neurodiverse individuals experience grief.
  • Identify neuro-affirming interventions that can be used with grieving children and adolescents.
  • Formulate ways to integrate neuro-affirming practices for grieving children and adolescents in diverse clinical settings.

 

Speaker Bio:

Kailey Bradley, MA, LPCC-S, NCC, FT, specializes in working with individuals of all ages, with special interest and care given to children’s bereavement, complicated grief, perinatal loss, and chronic illness. Kailey worked for 4. 5 years at a local Hospice agency and has provided over 50 workshops and trainings on grief throughout her career thus far. Kailey also has conducted over 100 grief support groups and has a passion for research on methods and strategies for offering creative and engaging bereavement support groups for children. Currently, Kailey is an adjunct professor at Ashland Theological seminary where she teaches grief and crisis counseling courses. Kailey is also currently a doctoral student at Ohio University studying counselor education and supervision. She also co-owns Refuge Counseling, LLC a private practice specializing in the intersections of grief, sexuality, chronic illness and spirituality.

 

New York Life Foundation logo

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

 

Interpersonal Loss and Bereavement Among Refugees

The world is experiencing the highest volume of displaced people due to reasons ranging from natural disasters to political unrest. In 2019, there were 26 million refugees worldwide (UNHCR, 2021). The United Nations (2021) defines refugees as “persons who are outside their country of origin for reasons of feared persecution, conflict, generalized violence, or other circumstances that have seriously disturbed public order and, as a result, require international protection” (para. 1).

Refugees’ experiences are dangerous and often traumatic, such as living in a war zone, witnessing violence, torture, murder or disappearance of family members or friends, and confinement, as well as traveling treacherous journeys in horrible conditions, often without food or water, and sometimes having to separate from family members.  Therefore, refugees may be at risk of experiencing a complicated form of bereavement. Scholars have urged the importance of humanizing refugees and creating welcoming communities among nations that welcome refugees. The presenter will introduce the unique aspects of refugee loss and bereavement. The presenter will discuss strategies and interventions for providing services to youth from refugee backgrounds. The presenter will also share practical considerations for community collaboration and advocacy to support refugee youth. Attendees will gain knowledge on how to provide culturally responsive services for refugee youth and their families.

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.

 

Objectives:

After attending this webinar, participants will be able to:

  • Identify and describe the unique aspects of refugee loss and bereavement.
  • Identify and describe special considerations in working with refugee youth.
  • Discuss specific strategies and interventions for providing services to youth from refugee backgrounds.
  • Discuss community collaboration and advocacy efforts for supporting youth from refugee backgrounds.

 

Speaker Bio:

Dana T. Isawi, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of counseling at Northern Illinois University. She joined NIU in the fall of 2017. Isawi has experience in teaching a variety of graduate courses in mental health counseling, school counseling and play therapy as well as providing supervision for graduate students. Isawi has clinical experience in the school and community settings both locally and internationally. Her professional experience also includes counseling intervention development, implementation and evaluation.

Isawi’s research and presentations focus on multicultural issues in counseling, especially on the traumatic experiences of refugees and counselors working with trauma survivors. Her presentations also focus on cultural considerations in play therapy and in working with families from diverse backgrounds.

 

New York Life Foundation logo

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

 

The Intersection of Domestic Violence and the Grieving Process of Children

Children who experience domestic violence are impacted at every level of their wellness. They can lose a caregiver or sibling(s) through separation, housing stability, and even the feeling of safety, security, and belonging, all contributing to a child’s grief. This grief may be initially overlooked or dismissed as adults focus on establishing safety and meeting the basic needs of all involved. This webinar will teach professionals how domestic violence and grief are intertwined. The webinar will highlight how domestic violence impacts the grieving process, particularly through secondary trauma and disenfranchised grief.

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:

  • Describe how secondary trauma from domestic violence impacts a child’s grieving process.
  • Discuss the intersection of disenfranchised grief with children who have experienced domestic violence.
  • Implement 2-3 therapeutic interventions to assist children who have lost a parent/caregiver to domestic violence.

 

Speaker Bios:

Sheree Burnett, MA, LPC-S is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor. She has over 10 years of experience working with various populations in community mental health, private practice, hospital, and university settings. She has particular training in working with trauma individuals and families who have experienced domestic violence. She has conducted didactic training, participated in panel conferences, assisted with developing a curriculum about domestic violence for the educational system, and co-developed department initiatives to bring awareness about domestic violence and ways to celebrate survivors of domestic abuse. In addition, Sheree has worked with and participated in training to assist children and their families about grief. She also obtained certification in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy which further allows her to assist survivors and grieving individuals with their healing journey in therapy.

 

New York Life Foundation logo

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

Occupational Therapy’s Role in Supporting Children’s Grief: Tools, Sensory Strategies, and When to Refer

When children experience a stressful life event, their nervous systems can have difficulty regulating. Children exhibit grief reactions in various ways that may present similarly to sensory and emotional dysregulation. Occupational therapists can partner with families to provide a holistic mental health approach. This presentation will address the role and benefit of occupational therapy, mental health strategies that may help, and when to seek out occupational therapy services.

 

Handouts:

 

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:

  • Participants will be able to describe occupational therapy and how it can benefit children experiencing grief
  • Participants will be able to identify two occupational therapy mental health strategies/tools that can be utilized in a clinic or at home.
  • Participants will be able to recognize when to refer a child experiencing grief to occupational therapy services.

 

Speaker Bios:

Michelle Michaels is an occupational therapy doctoral student at Huntington University, who is completing her capstone experience project while collaborating with the National Alliance of Children’s Grief (NACG). She is extremely passionate about her project working with the NACG due to her personal experiences with childhood grief following the death of her mother. She also has ten years of experience working with children with and without disabilities as a care provider, direct support professional, and a personal paraprofessional aid. She gained occupational therapy clinical experience through her Level II Fieldwork placement at an outpatient pediatric clinic that utilized a sensory-based approach. Once she has passed the NBCOT exam following graduation in April, she plans to go into travel occupational therapy.

Centering Intersectionality Within the Field of Childhood Bereavement

It is commonly believed that grief is different for everyone and that we should not compare one child’s grief to another’s. Why can grief differ so much from one child to another, even within the same family system? When a child experiences a death loss, adults in their system may attribute a child’s thoughts and behaviors to being a “grief response” and center the child’s grief as their primary motivating factor. This unintentional oversimplification of what the child may be experiencing can make grief the only lens by which adults see children who are grieving. It can potentially harm a child’s health and well-being if supportive adults only see a child as a “single story.” This presentation will use the concept of intersectionality introduced by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw to help adults who support children see them as the complex, socially constructed people they are.

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:

  • Explain Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw’s concept of intersectionality.
  • Identify areas of their practice where intersectionality can be incorporated into their work with children who are grieving.
  • Create an intake process that uses principles of intersectionality to help portray a more complete picture of a grieving child.

 

Speaker Bios:

Adam W. Carter, Ph.D., is a professional counselor and counselor educator who received his doctoral degree in Counselor Education and Supervision, with an emphasis in multicultural counseling, from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Adam has taught courses in CACREP-accredited master’s level clinical mental health programs and doctoral-level courses in counselor education and supervision and served as the Trauma-Informed Counseling Graduate Certificate coordinator at Northern Illinois University. During his time at Northern Illinois University, he founded the Center for Grief and Loss at the University’s Community Counseling and Training Center, where he provided clinical supervision and education to counselors in training. Adam’s ongoing research and scholarship program focuses on early childhood grief responses and preparing counselors-in-training to work with grieving children. Adam’s scholarly work also includes numerous peer-reviewed presentations focusing on topics such as trauma-informed counseling, play therapy, and developing research skills in counseling practitioners. His clinical experience is broad, having worked as a counselor and supervisor in community mental health clinics, in-home intensive settings, community advocacy agencies, and private practice.

 

New York Life Foundation logo

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

Black Youth and Family Bereavement: A Strengths Perspective

*This playback is available to active NACG Members Only.

Working with Grieving Immigrant Youth

Gender & Sexuality: Awareness & Responsiveness

 

This training provides healthcare professionals with the necessary skills to offer more mindful, resourceful, and inclusive support to their clients. There is a focus on the intersectionality of biological sex, gender, and sexuality as it pertains to identity development. We will also explore the necessity of trauma-informed care as it relates to the clinical implications of marginalization, and how we can utilize our positions to create safer spaces for our clients.

Grief and Bereavement for LGBTQ Youth

*This playback is available to active NACG Members Only.