Bereavement Professionals’ Insights

Shannon – Hope for Healing

Shannon shares about losing her husband to suicide, her parents and her father-in-law. She felt broken and to be able to take care of her kids and her self seemed overwhelming. It took someone telling her that you can heal from trauma to give her hope for healing.

Rev. Sky – “Yearning”

Rev. Sky discusses yearning and how it’s OK to feel those emotions.

Teresa – Understanding people with intellectual disabilities and grief

Teresa shares an example and discusses the importance of truly understanding people with intellectual disabilities when they are telling us their stories

Jacqueline – Crying

Jacqueline talks about how grief is love and how crying is natural

Jenn – The difference between expressive and creative arts

Jenn explains the difference between expressive and creative arts. You don’t have to limit yourself to art making to help you through your grief process. Expressive arts encompasses a wide variety of approaches including drama, dance, movement, writing and music

Christian – “Growth out of pain”

Christian tells about how grief changes and we grow.

Janice – “Grief and the whole relationship”

Janice uses a personal story to talk about how loss can be related to the whole relationship not just the death.

Claudia – You do not have to be an artist to do art therapy

Claudia explains why you do not have to be an artist to benefit

Maureen – “Grief is a messy non-linear place”

Maureen explains how you wind your way through grief and that is normal.

Katie “Ongoing Grief”

Katie talks about the loss of her mother.

Caileigh – Grief and child behaviour

Caileigh explains when a child experiences grief or a traumatic grief experience, there’s often behaviour that comes from that. Grief impacts behaviour. And sometimes it can be outward behaviour and sometimes it can be internalized behaviour. The good news about grief and behaviour is that it can be managed and supported through effective communication, through therapy and through coping strategies.

Caileigh – Through play children learn so much about their grief

Caileigh discussed how children learn so much about their grief through play. There’s less confusion, there’s less anxiety, there’s more awareness. For the child and the parent, there is more acceptance of grief.