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.

CBEM Key Topic Report 2024: The Relationship between Childhood Bereavement and Household Income

The Childhood Bereavement Estimation Model (CBEM) developed by Judi’s House/JAG Institute approximates rates of U.S. children who will experience the death of a parent or sibling by the time they reach adulthood. Each year, Judi’s House releases standard estimates of childhood bereavement rates in the U.S. and all 50 states, as well as a CBEM Key Topic Report exploring factor of interest, such as geography, cause of death, race/ethnicity. This webinar reviews the 2024 CBEM Key Topic Report examining the relationship between childhood bereavement and household income in the United States. Income is a critical social determinant of health that is associated with a range of outcomes, including early mortality. Overall, findings from CBEM analyses show that lower income is powerfully associated with higher childhood bereavement rates. In the vast majority of U.S. states, children in the lowest income counties had the highest bereavement rates, and the magnitude of the difference was typically substantial.

During this webinar, the presenters will review the process employed to create income categories in each state, describe the methodology for the analyses, and summarize the results across the 50 states. Implications of the findings for families, community organizations, advocates, and policymakers will be explored along with recommendations for transformational change.

Download the slides →

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 the relationship between median household income and childhood bereavement rates in the United States.
• Quantify the magnitude of the difference in CBEM results for children in each US state’s lowest and highest median household income counties.
• Propose policies and practices that can address childhood bereavement using income disparities as an important context.

Speaker Bios:

Jeff Lin, PhD, is the Director of Evaluation and Research of Judi’s House/JAG Institute. He has a passion for applying research evidence to develop public policies and practices that best serve the community. With decades of experience working in partnership with public and non-profit agencies, he has seen the impact that good research can have on people’s lives. Jeff was a sociology professor for 15 years, focusing his research and teaching on addressing pressing public issues such as criminal justice and youth services reforms. This experience deeply informs his commitment to producing data and evidence that can help bereaved children and families.

Michaeleen (Micki) Burns, PhD, is the Chief Executive Officer at Judi’s House/JAG Institute (JH/JAG) and adjunct faculty at the University of Colorado. JH/JAG is a comprehensive family bereavement center in Metro Denver. She serves on the board of the National Alliance for Children’s Grief and is an advisor to Speaking Grief, a national public media initiative seeking to the grief experience. A Licensed Psychologist with more than two decades of experience providing therapeutic assessment and support to families facing adversity, Micki has witnessed the lasting impact of unaddressed grief. Her practice is focused on supporting families who have experienced the loss of a child and specializes in working with those grieving suicide and overdose deaths. She is dedicated to ensuring appropriate care is available for all and raising childhood bereavement to a level of critical public importance. Before becoming the CEO, Micki oversaw the direct service, research, and training departments at JH/JAG, working towards a vision where no child is alone in grief.

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

Introduction to Grief Support Series | Attachment Theory and the Enduring Impact on Grief

Attachment Theory offers profound insights into how individuals form and maintain emotional bonds, regulate their emotions, and adapt to change throughout their lives. From birth, our attachment style is formed within the context of relationships and influences our sense of self, identity, and values. When experiencing grief and loss, our attachment style directly impacts how we grieve and relate to others. Throughout this presentation we will discuss attachment styles across the lifespan, how those styles can impact grief reactions, attachment theory’s role in healing, and strategies and interventions to navigate grief within the framework of attachment theory.

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 →

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: Novice – 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 the four attachment styles and discern the potential difference in grief responses.
• Identify how attachment styles can be utilized to promote healing.
• Gain skills in applying attachment theory in therapeutic settings.

Speaker Bio:

Jordan Park, LMFT, received her Master’s Degree at Oklahoma State University in Human Development and Family Science with an option in Marriage and Family Therapy in 2017. She has served in various roles throughout her 5 years of employment at Calm Waters, and is currently a full-time therapist, seeing individuals, families, and couples who have experienced a death and/or divorce. She is very passionate about healthy relationships and encourages individuals to know they are worthy of love and of being seen, heard, and valued.

Heather Gaglio, LMFT, received her Master’s degree at Oklahoma State University in Human Development and Family Science with an option in Marriage and Family Therapy in 2012. She is a Licensed Marital and Family Therapist (LMFT) and an Approved Supervisor through the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). Heather has over 10 years of clinical experience and has worked in non-profit and private practice settings. Heather has been involved in supporting research in the field of Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood programs as well. As the current Clinical Director at Calm Waters in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Heather oversees a team of therapists and clinical interns who provide over 250 hours of grief counseling to nearly 150 clients each month. She is passionate about increasing access of grief support and educating the community about healthy and helpful ways to support children and families through grief and loss so that no one has to grieve alone.

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.

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:

• 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.

Introduction to Grief Support Series | Grief Comes in All Shapes and Sizes

Professionals working in the field of loss and bereavement are accustomed to supporting families in need after a death has occurred. Yet many families experience grief at the time of diagnosis leading up to the actual death. This reaction, otherwise known as anticipatory grief, is what families are immediately coping with as their world changes drastically.

This workshop will address anticipatory grief; why and how it is a unique type of grief and how it impacts children’s developmental stages. It will also cover therapeutic interventions such as bibliotherapy, creative arts, and play techniques. Emphasis on legacy building and holding space for families and their grief journey will also be presented. The presenters will also leave time for discussion.

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 →

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: Novice – 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

Speaker Bio:

Shani Thornton, MS, CCLS, has been a Certified Child Life Specialist for 17 years. She started her career in a pediatric inpatient rehabilitation setting, transitioned to the community, and launched a private practice in the Sacramento region of Northern California. Shani supports families coping with life’s challenges of illness, trauma, loss, and transitions. Using therapeutic play, creative arts, education, and empathy, she helps children process these challenges and create a coping plan to support their needs. She offers in-home visits, phone/virtual consultations, caregiver workshops, and support to community programs, hospice agencies, and schools. Shani’s expertise has been working with families coping with a terminal diagnosis, end-of-life support, and grief. She recently co-authored a chapter on private practice in The Role of Child Life Specialists in Community Settings. She has been a chair member of the Association of Child Life Professionals and the California Association of Play Therapy and volunteers as a burn camp leader for the Firefighters Burn Institute. Shani is a sought-after presenter for many local, regional, and national conferences and reaches many followers through her insightful blogs and publications.

Corrie Sirota, MSW, holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from McGill University, (Montreal, Canada) as well as a Graduate Certificate in Loss and Bereavement where she continues to teach. As a licensed psychotherapist, Corrie maintains a private practice specializing in Loss and Bereavement, Parenting, Stress management, and Relationship issues. She is the author of “Someone Died…Now What – A personal and professional perspective on coping with grief and loss” and “Loss & Found – A grief activity journal. Corrie is also the Clinical Director of Myra’s Kids Foundation which holds a weekend bereavement camp for children ages 6-17.

Corrie is the co-host of Life Unrehearsed – a weekly radio show on CJAD 800 about the ins and outs of everyday life. She is also a well-known guest speaker, having presented at numerous conferences and workshops, both locally and nationally and continues to develop and facilitate psycho-social prevention and intervention workshops for school professionals, students, camping staff, various community agencies, organizations, and businesses. Corrie delivered a TEDx presentation in Oct 2019 entitled, Creating New Normals after Someone You Loved Died. She is frequently interviewed on many local radio, news, and TV programs on various issues relating to loss and bereavement, how to cope with crisis, child development, and parenting. She is married and has two children and loves to laugh.

Compassionate Leadership: Moving in and Through Difficult Conversations in the Workplace

Compassionate leadership shines a light on strengths-oriented, wellness-centered, trauma-informed practices as the foundation for our communications and organizational culture. This workshop will explore interpersonal and organizational strategies to enhance workplace wellness and collaboration, including leadership styles and how they impact our work, ideas for constructively giving and receiving feedback, and how to build a culture of team and gratitude. Participants will walk away shored up with ideas for moving in and through potentially difficult conversations with increased clarity and effectiveness.

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: 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:

• Name four leadership styles and how they impact workplaces.
• Identify one strategy for effectively giving and/or receiving feedback.
• Identify one strategy for creating or promoting organizational wellness.

Speaker Bios:

Dr. Tina Barrett, LCPC specializes in strength-oriented care and fostering resilience following traumatic experiences and attachment breaks. A licensed clinical professional counselor, Barrett integrates stories and experiences from over 25 years of work in hospitals, schools, group homes, private practice, wilderness therapy, and nonprofit grief centers. As the Executive Director of Tamarack Grief Resource Center, her commitment to excellence in grief and trauma care is matched by her profound commitment to healthy organizations and setting teams up for success. Barrett is the author of numerous chapters and articles and serves on the Board of Directors for the National Alliance for Children’s Grief; the Leadership Team for Project Tomorrow Montana; and on the Advisory Board for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors. She was recognized as the 2019 Community Educator by the Association of Death Educators and Counselors.

Meg Smith, MA is the Assistant Director for Tamarack Grief Resource Center. She’s been with TGRC for 5 years, managing the administrative functioning of the nonprofit, including clinic management, technology, operations, HR, and development. She has an MA in Environmental Humanities and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Public Administration. Her background is in nonprofit efficiency, creating systems and policies to bolster efficiency and efficacy. She has grant writing and development training from the University of Montana and experience building systems from the ground up from her work developing a quarterly magazine with Families for a Livable Climate. She trained as an educator and worked in Missoula County Public Schools.

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