Create your ideal learning plan by taking the full certificate program, or any of the individual modules (webinars).
This certificate program will be offered as a webinar only
Dates: September 17, October 20, November 26, 2020 and January 19, February 23, 2021
Facilitators: Andrea Warnick, RN., MA., RP., Liana Lowenstein, MSW., RSW., CPT-S., Lysa Toye, MSW., RSW., Rev. Andrew BlakeThis training is suitable for: Any professional or volunteer who is in a position to influence the support received by a grieving child. This includes front-line workers and volunteers such as medical professionals, educators, clergy, social workers, administrators, residential workers, counsellors, funeral service providers and hospice volunteers. Please note; Each of the modules (webinars) may be taken on their own as a stand-alone training, however all five days must be completed to obtain the certificate.
Overview: Grief is a confusing and isolating experience for any person, old or young. Children's grief, however, differs considerably from adult grief, resulting in the needs of grieving children often being overlooked or misunderstood. This can have a profound impact on the social and emotional development of a child. Caregivers, including the most skilled professionals, often feel helpless when supporting children through the death of someone close to them.The Certificate Program in Children's Grief and Bereavement explores the roots of our cultural discomfort with the topic of children and death and exposes common myths and misconceptions. This certificate program equips you with skills to provide support to children, youth and families grieving the dying or death of someone they care about. Adults cannot change the reality of a death occurring in a child's life, but with the right tools they can play a powerful role in shaping the story of the child's grief experience and therefore help the child thrive in life.Individual Module Overview:
Module 1: Children at the Bedside: Preparing Children for the Death of Someone Close to them
Date: September 17, 2020 | Presenter: Andrea Warnick, RN., MA., RP.
Overview: Supporting children and youth who are experiencing the dying of someone close to them is a challenging experience across all disciplines, even for the most skilled professional. There is a growing body of research encouraging authenticity, honesty and inclusion of children experiencing a death. Yet too often children and youth remain excluded from the experience of illness, dying and death, leading to a sense of alienation for the child and a missed opportunity for their growth and connection. In our intent of protecting, we often unintentionally unplug the child from relationships both prematurely and unnaturally. Real-life and real death narratives will be used throughout this workshop to identify practical strategies that can be used to support children and youth who are experiencing the impending death of someone in their lives. Participants will learn:
Module 2: When Death Darkens the Door: Supporting Bereaved Children and Youth
Date: October 20, 2020 | Presenter: Andrea Warnick, RN., MA., RP.
Overview: The death of a significant person represents one of the most powerful disruptions in all aspects of a child or youth’s emotional existence. Yet few professionals, whether in the field of mental health, medicine, or education, receive formal training on how to support bereaved children and youth. The focus of this workshop will be on supporting children and youth after a death has happened in their lives, regardless of whether the death was a recent event or occurred years ago. This workshop will identify grief support strategies that can be used with children and youth in a wide variety of settings. “What not to say” to a grieving child, youth, or family member will also be highlighted. Stories and important messages from children and youth that illustrate “best practice” guidelines for supporting a healthy grief process will be shared.
Participants will learn:
Module 3: When Grief Gets More Complicated
Date: November 26, 2020 | Presenters: Andrea Warnick, RN., MA., RP., Liana Lowenstein, MSW., RSW., CPT-S.,
Overview: While rarely is grief uncomplicated, this workshop will focus on how to support children and youth who have experienced deaths with additional complicating circumstances such as the nature of the death (suicide, homicide, substance use disorder). Ways of identifying when a child may be experiencing trauma symptoms will be highlighted.
Please note that while this workshop will be trauma-informed, the emphasis will be on recognizing, not treating, children and youth who are experiencing symptoms of trauma. The concept of “Complicated Grief” will be touched on, as will ways of supporting grieving children who have neuro-development disorders such as an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Clinical examples, practical tools and resources will be shared through small and large group discussion with the aim of enhancing participant’s confidence in their ability to provide grief support in clinically challenging situations.
Module 4: Using Mindfulness and Compassion to Support Grieving Children and Families
Date: January 19, 2021 | Presenters: Andrea Warnick, RN., MA., RP., and Rev. Andrew Blake
Overview: Much of our training in empathy focuses on “being fully” in another's shoes. Leading neuroscientific research exploring the pathways of empathy and compassion tells us a different story. Overwhelming evidence also points to the significance of mindfulness in establishing the skill of “being present”, which is an essential component of providing grief support. When awareness is balanced between self and other, compassion has a dual pathway, where our care extends both to ourselves and to those in our care. In addition to the use of compassion in clinical work, mindfulness practices that can be used with children, adolescents and families will be explored, as will the link with the clinician’s own mindful practice.
Module 5: Dancing in the Darkness: Creative Approaches to Working with Grieving Children and Youth
Date: February 23, 2021 | Presenters: Andrea Warnick, RN., MA., RP., and Lysa Toye, MSW., RSW.
Overview: Play, creativity and the arts have a unique capacity to respond to human suffering, and offer experimental spaces for the exploration of ideas, feelings and questions around the experiences of death and grief.
The emphasis in this workshop will be on supporting participants who already have a theoretical foundation in children’s grief and bereavement to build their toolkit and confidence in creatively engaging with children and youth who are grieving a death. Play based, arts based and other creative approaches to both psycho-education and counseling/psychotherapy will be explored during this experiential, daylong workshop. Ways of using such approaches to facilitate grief education and support in schools will be shared, and the ever-emerging pros and cons of Thanatechnology will be touched on. Many easy to use (and modify) creative techniques in working with grieving children and youth will be shared, and participants will have the opportunity to engage in safe, experiential activities to better understand the process of using creative approaches. No art experience is required. Participants will learn:
Registration Fees: Please see the Fees Tab on the top left of this page for full registration fees, group rates along with the cancellation and refund policies. Registration closes September 14, 2020.
Thursday, September 17, 2020 - Tuesday, February 23, 2021 9:00 AM - 4:00 PMEastern Time
WEBINAR ONLY
Mary Anne Van Rooyen