Bereavement Professionals’ Insights

Janice- “Stay with feelings”

Janice talks about how feelings can be buried and how working through them can help.

Professional Insights Playlist

Listen to the thoughts and insights of professionals helping people and families to cope with grief.

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.

Rev. Sky – “Youth alert”

Rev. Sky talks about youth and when it’s time to reach out for support.

Claudia – Waterlillies

Claudia talks about how she painted on panels big enough to hug to help her with her grief

Cara – Intellectual disabilities, sharing and expressing about grief

Cara discusses how it’s very important that people living with intellectual disabilities have the opportunity to not only know about the information about the person being ill and dying and having the choice and opportunity to go to after death rituals. It’s also really important that they get the opportunity to share their story in whatever way they communicate. This can be verbally through sign language, through communication books, art, music, going for walks, being in nature

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.

Michele – Normalizing conversations around death dying grief and loss

Michele discusses grief literacy, the importance of talking and that dying is a part of life

Corrie – Grief is like a rollercoaster

Corrie talks about grief over time

Amanda – “Hospice like home”

Amanda discusses the value of feeling like being at home during palliative care.

Caleigh – Play Therapy

Caileigh explains how play therapy, a form of psychotherapy can help children in grief. It is specifically used when working with children and families and youth because it’s developmentally appropriate. They are never expected to sit down and to talk. And it is through the language of play that they’re able to learn about the confusing feelings of grief. They are able to learn new skills to cope with their grief, and they’re able to go at their own pace.

Janice – “Grieving as long as you need to grieve”

Janice talks about her personal grief experiences and understanding the need for grieving as long as you need to.