Bereavement Professionals’ Insights
Claudia – Art therapy and costs
Claudia talks about how people may shy away from art therapy because of costs and how training schools can be an option
Weathering the Intense Emotions of Grief
Grief often comes with powerful, unpredictable emotional shifts that can be painful to experience. While it’s important to find ways to sit with these feelings, to acknowledge the pain of grief and accept loss, it’s also necessary to find ways to ease and manage the pain. There are several simple activities that you can explore to help.
Maureen – Holiday kindness and grief
Maureen discusses grieving during the holidays and being lifter up by kindness
Madelyn -Healing and support group for Asian Canadian women
Madelyn discusses the value in having your voice heard
Craig – How men process grief
Craig talks about his personal story of grief and how he learned to process his emotions in a healthy way. He discusses the challenges that men face when grieving, and offers advice on how to find healthy ways to cope with loss.Craig lost his wife, his mother, his job, and his home in a short period of time. He describes how he felt pressured to be stoic and strong for others, and how this made it difficult for him to grieve. He eventually realized that it was important to allow himself to feel his emotions, even the difficult ones.Craig shares some of the things that helped him to process his grief, such as talking to a therapist, writing in a journal, and spending time in nature. He also emphasizes the importance of finding support from friends and family. This video is a powerful and moving story of how one man found healing after experiencing a series of devastating losses. It is an important reminder that grief is a normal and healthy emotion, and that there are healthy ways to cope with it.
Jenn – What an art therapist can show us about processing grief
Jenn talks about how art can give a form to grief. It can give it shape and texture so it can be seen when it is often so invisible. It can also be messy which so like our grief experience
Janice – “The importance of listening”
Janice explains the importance of not being judgemental and listening when helping someone is in grief.
Keith – “Timeframe for grief”
Keith explains it is never too late to grieve and there is no timeline.
Amanda – “Hospice like home”
Amanda discusses the value of feeling like being at home during palliative care.
Kristal – Attending Memorials as a Support Worker
Kristal discusses the importance of finding ways to honour people that have been lost and how they have impacted you. She speaks to how she often chooses not to attend public memorials for those she has lost as a support worker as they are often very overwhelming. Instead, she has her own personal rituals or ways of honouring those she has lost personally including opening a window. She discusses how this practice was used when she worked in palliative care.