The Physical Responses of Grief: How Paying Attention to Our Bodies can Help System-Involved Youth Adapt to Loss

Wendy Kessler, MSW, FT

Training Description

All of the losses (including non-death losses) experienced by system involved youth are processed as grief. Too often youth attempt to manage the pain of grief by disconnecting from their whole self. But grief is not just an emotional and cognitive experience; it is a physical process as well. Learning how to integrate all parts of self – heart, mind, and body – as we grieve can help move system-involved youth towards wellbeing when life has been derailed by loss. Participants in this training will be informed through presenter instruction, a slide presentation, guided discussion, collaborative sharing, learning coping strategies to manage physical symptoms of grief, and a supportive tool for helping system involved youth understand their physical responses as a guide to identifying and processing emotions related to loss.

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

· Identify 5 reasons grief must be…