As Thomas Attig might phrase it, grieving entails relearning the self and relearning the world, because both are challenged and changed by the sudden and frequently tragic death of an intimate other.  In such cases, we may be deprived of crucial relationships that anchor our sense of who we are, lose parts of ourselves sustained by the deceased, suffer deactivation of life-defining roles or positions, or when the loss is stigmatizing, as through the suicide or drug overdose of a loved one, struggle with social avoidance, shame or ostracism.  In all these ways radical changes arising in bereavement commonly require us to revisit and revise core aspects of our identity and construct a new self in their wake, potentially opening pathways to profound personal growth through grief.

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This 3.5-hour module addresses these themes as expressed in video recordings of clients dealing with both natural death loss of a key attachment figure and violent death of a partner by suicide.  We begin by providing a schematic model of the impact of bereavement on survivors’ sense of self, which ushers in a need to reauthor their self-narrative.  We then present two well-validated scales for assessing the undermining of previous identities by loss as well as the posttraumatic personal growth that can result, which can be used in practice contexts to identify targets of intervention or serve as an index of clinical change.  Next, we offer a generous toolbox of creative techniques for working with self-change in grief therapy, including the visual depiction of clients’ self-image, the mapping of their position in a web of influential relationships, and a special format of clinical interviewing to recruit the symbolic support of the deceased or future self in undertaking necessary self-reconstruction as the bereaved move forward with life.

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Learners should conclude the module with multiple windows through which they and their clients can explore subtle but substantial alterations in identity arising from unwelcome transition, ultimately freeing them to rebuild a sense of self in a changed world.

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Note:  This 3.5-hour CE module focuses on application of psychological assessment and/or intervention methods that have overall consistent and credible empirical support in the contemporary peer reviewed scientific literature beyond those publications and other types of communications devoted primarily to the promotion of the approach.

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Summarize evidence supporting two meaning-oriented measures of challenges to personal identity and personal growth in bereavement, which have been translated into multiple languages to enable their use with culturally diverse populations;

• Apply the Identity Constellation exercise to map one’s position in the context of relationships and personal projects; and 

• Conceptualize the Internalized Other Interview as a means of accessing the perspective of the deceased on the grieving client’s need for self-change, as well as to seek guidance from the future self.

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Note:  Attendance of this Live Online Training session confers credit of 1 Technique Module required for Certification in Grief Therapy as Meaning Reconstruction or Certification in Grief Therapy for Suicide Bereavement.

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COURSE PACK PROVIDES

• A PDF copy of the presentation slides;

• Copies of the Integration of Life Experiences Scale—Short Form (ISLES-SF) and Grief and Meaning Reconstruction Inventory (GMRI) with scoring instructions and permission to use them in clinical and research contexts;

• Complete instructions for administering and processing the Identity Constellation Exercise; and 

• Guidelines for conducting the Internalised Others Interview (IOI) and Future Self Interview (FSI) in clinical contexts.

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TARGET AUDIENCE

• Psychologists, social workers, counselors, art / music / expressive arts therapists, pastoral care personnel, healthcare professionals, bereavement volunteers

• To qualify for the 3.5 CE Credits, please kindly note that:

  • Full attendance of the entire session is required to receive CE credits.  No partial credit is awarded.

  • You are required to complete a CE quiz after the session.  An overall score of 75% or higher within three attempts is required to obtain CE credits.

  • The certificate of CE credits will be issued to you upon your submission of a participant evaluation form.

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INSTRUCTIONAL LEVEL

• Intermediate

 

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

This program contains the following segments:

• Who am I now?  Identity Change in Bereavement (30 min.)

• A Tale of Two Measures:  Assessing the Grieving Self (30 min.)

• Case Illustration:  Suicide Loss and Personal Reconstruction (30 min.) ​

• Through the Looking Glass:  The Self Portrait (30 min.)

• Contextualizing the Self:  The Identity Constellation Exercise (45 min.)

• Support for Self-Change:  The Internalized Other Interview (15 min.)

• Case Illustration:  Getting Permission from Mom (30 mins.)

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WEBINAR TIMING

• 9am-12:30pm, PDT, Portland, OR, that corresponds to 12-3:30pm in Eastern Daylight Time, 5-8:30pm in British Summer Time and 6-9:30pm in Central European Summer Time.

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Note:  The Zoom link and learning materials will be emailed to the registrants in due course.

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Disclosure Statement

This recorded module is not supported financially by a manufacturer of any commercial product and there is no sale of any product or publication during the live training session.  There is no known conflict of interest for this CE module or the presenting faculty.