Outline

There is grief, loss, and mourning.

It is all about the family. Family systems have an impact on grief reactions.

• Family life cycle
• Identifying effective communication patterns to promote healthy boundaries
• Impact of illness trajectory
• Grief styles
  • Epigenetics-do we inherit our grief reactions from our grandparents?
  • Personality
  • Temperament
• Normative grief responses
• Impact of type of loss
• Family systems theory
• Gender issues
• Assessment of risk factors for complicated/prolonged grief
• Determining appropriateness of specific interventions
• Case Studies

LIFE SPAN

• Developmental considerations and milestones related to loss reactions
  • Children
  • Adolescents
  • Early Adulthood
  • Middle Adulthood
  • Later Adulthood
  • Parental Loss
  • Child Loss
  • Widowhood
• Grief counseling throughout the lifespan
• Grief therapy interventions related to lifespan

CULTURAL/SOCIALIZATION

• Loss, Grief, and Mourning
  • Factors affecting experience of and expression of grief
  • Impact on mourning practices
  • Death anxiety

• Assessing and intervening with cultural competence
  • Advanced care planning
  • Communication
  • Meaning of death

The exchange of ideas was led by Dr. Samuels.

If you want to share interventions and assessments that have proven effective with clients who are dealing with a loss, network with other professionals.

ASSESSMENTS, DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT PLANNING, AND INTERVENTIONS

Audits and investigations are subject to scrutinize.

• Current assessment models
• Current therapeutic strategies
• Controversy about efficacy of interventions
• Complicated grief
• Gender considerations
• Pathologizing of grief

There are resources and research.

• Empirical research on current theories
• Research on effectiveness of assessments and interventions
• Practical resources for clinicians

There are professional issues.

• Which assessments are within your scope of practice?
• Communication
• Professional liability and limitations
• Determining appropriate interventions in concert with evidence and client characteristics
• Professional responsibilities