Bereavement Professionals’ Insights

Jacqueline – Crying

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

Rev. Sky – “It’s OK to cry”

Rev. Sky talks about loss due to gun violence, that it’s OK to cry and finding an outlet.

Chantal – Grief and art therapy group

Chantal talks about the honour of being witness to other peoples story and exploration of grief and art therapy

Janice – “More to deal with than death when someone dies”

Janice explains that when somebody dies it’s not just the death that you are dealing with but the entire relationship.

Jenn – Art can be grounding and meditative

Jenn explains how the textures , qualities and colours of art can be grounding and meditative

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.

Katie “Ongoing Grief”

Katie talks about the loss of her mother.

Cara – Grief and intellectual disabilities is a topic that needs to “get out there”

Cara shares some information from a participant in her research on intellectual disabilities and the bereaved. A person with an intellectual disability said… “Grief: It’s a topic that needs to get out there” Grief is something that so many people are hesitant to talk about, to display, to show, because there’s so many social rules around how we grieve. This is particularily challenging for the intellectually disabled.

Keith – “Disenfranchised Grief”

Keith describes disenfranchised grief.

Maureen – “My miscarriages and attachment”

Maureen tells about her miscarriages, attachment and understanding why she felt so terrible.

Donna – “Grief in conversation”

Donna discusses language and talking about grief.

Children’s Grief and Loss Toolkit (ages 6-12) [FREE Downloadable PDF]

Grief is a natural experience, and is considered one of the most stressful life events a person can experience. 1 in 14 children under the age of 18 will experience the death of someone close to them. Every year, approximately 200 000 children are grieving the death of someone in their extended family or community.…