Understanding & Supporting System Involved Youth & Caregivers with Stigmatized, Disenfranchised & Ambiguous Loss

Wendy Kessler, MSW, FT

Training Description

Grief is our natural response to loss. It is an innate process that is wired into human beings so that we can understand what we need, release emotions, and adapt to loss. However, there are multiple factors – internal and external – that complicate grief, causing this natural process to become stalled or derailed. This training will educate participants about common grief complications - with a focus on non-death (ambiguous) loss, stigma, and disenfranchisement. Instructor will teach techniques and demonstrate interventions to effectively support system-involved youth and their families experiencing complicated grief. Participants will be informed through presenter instruction, a slide presentation, self-reflection, explanation of supportive techniques, and intervention demonstration. To increase participant engagement and content retention, presenter will also utilize the chat box, reaction emojis, guided participant discussion, learning activities, and Questions & Answers.

Learning Objectives

Participants will be able to:

· Identify 3 external factors that complicate grief for system-involved youth and their caregivers;

· Acquire 4 techniques to bolster system-involved youth and caregivers experiencing complicated grief; and

· Identify 2 strategies for effectively supporting system-involved youth and their caregivers who are experiencing complicated grief.

Agenda

10:00 – 10:15am  Welcome

· Introduction of Trainer

· Introduction of Topic

· Introduction of Participants

10:15 – 11:00am  Understanding Typical Grief versus Complicated Grief

· Grief is Our Natural Response to Loss

· What is Normal?

  o Typical Grief

  o Acute Grief

  o Complicated Grief

  o Prolonged Grief

  o Traumatic Grief

· Guided Discussion

11:00 – 11:30am  When Grief Gets Complicated by Internal Factors

· Assumptive World

· False Narratives

· Binary Thinking

· Emotional Repression

11:30 – 11:45am  Learning Activity: Practicing Joy

11:45am – 12:00pm  Group Reflection

12:00 – 12:15pm  Break (CE Hours will not be offered for this time)

12:15 – 1:00pm  When Grief Gets Complicated by External Factors

· Ambiguous Loss Defined

· Stigmatized Loss Defined

· Disenfranchised Loss Defined

1:00 – 1:20pm  Ambiguous Loss

· Factors that Contribute to Ambiguous Loss

· Impact of Ambiguous Losses on System Involved Youth & Caregivers

· Guided Discussion

1:20 – 1:40pm  Stigmatized Loss

· Factors that Contribute to Stigmatized Loss

· Impact of Stigmatized Losses on System Involved Youth & Caregivers

· Guided Discussion

1:40 – 2:00pm  Disenfranchised Loss

· Factors that Contribute to Disenfranchised Loss

· Impact of Disenfranchised Losses on System Involved Youth & Caregivers

· Guided Discussion

2:00 – 2:30pm  Lunch (CE Hours will not be offered for this time)

2:30 – 3:00pm  Bolstering System Involved Youth & Caregivers at Risk for Complicated Grief

· Psychosocial Education

  o Myth of Closure

  o Post Traumatic Growth

· Building Resilience

  o Coping Strategies

  o Accept Conflicting Thoughts and Emotions

· Manage Distress

  o Mindful Breathing

  o Grounding

  o Mantras

3:00 – 3:15pm  Most Important Strategy is Active Presence

· Witness

· Acknowledge

· Validate

· Affirm

3:15 – 3:30pm  Learning Activity: What Have You Lost?

3:30 – 3:45pm  Activity Reflection

3:45 – 4:00pm  Closing

· Contact Info

· Future Training Dates

· Wrap-up

Meet Our Trainer

Wendy Kessler, MSW, FT is a Grief Specialist. She is credentialed as a Fellow in Thanatology (the study of death, dying, and bereavement) by the Association of Death Education and Counseling, and a Certified Mental Health First Aid Instructor. Wendy worked as hospice Bereavement Specialist from 2017-2022 – offering grief care to patients’ loved ones, hospice staff, and community partners. Through hospice work she recognized a gap in grief education for helping

professionals, as well as the need for better support for grievers. As a result, she left corporate hospice care and launched Grief Guide Consulting, LLC in 2022. Her private practice grief services include individual counseling, support group facilitation, group education, and consulting. She believes that grief is not a problem to be fixed. It is a journey that we can learn to navigate, and when the path is unfamiliar or uncertain it can help to have a guide. You can learn more about Wendy or contact her at her website: www.griefguideconsulting.com.

This course meets the qualifications for (5.25) BBS CE hours for LCSWs, LMFTs, LPCCs, and LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences & is provided by Fred Finch Youth Center, CAMFT Provider #045295.