Living in a Shattered World

Having experienced a major loss or crisis, we may feel that we have lost our sense of footing in life and the resulting loss and grief may be overwhelming.  In this webinar, we examine the key concepts of the Shattered Assumptive World theory and their relevance in times of crises, trauma and loss, such as […]

Compassion-Based Practices

Working with people who have experienced significant losses can be emotionally intense and difficult, especially in situations where the loss itself is ongoing or where the ramifications of the loss have a continuous ripple effect for clients. This session will build upon the components of compassion (mindfulness, presence, and common humanity) in a practical way, […]

Collage: Integrating the Torn Pieces

This module introduces collage as a transformative art therapy modality, effective in the treatment of traumatic loss. Collages are works of art created from the pages of magazines. Images and words are cut and/or torn, altered, arranged and glued onto paper or cardboard. This “therapy of the imagination,” is particularly well suited as a sense […]

Emotion Co-Regulation

Though grief is widely considered a family affair, how can therapists best promote both personal and interpersonal resilience in a field dominated principally by individualistic theories?  Approaching this question from a systemic perspective, meaning can be viewed as a fundamental principle of resilience and shared meaning has the potential to bring families and communities together. […]

Constructing Relational Resilience

How do couples support each other when they are both simultaneously grieving the loss of a child?  Grief can create either connection or isolation in couple relationships, as parents cope with the gravity of their own tragedy while also bearing witness to their partner’s suffering and pain.  A research-based systemic perspective on bereaved couples’ coregulatory […]

Transformed by Loss: Art Therapy Self-Portraits & the Redefined Self

This module, rooted in art therapy theory and Neimeyer’s Meaning Reconstruction theory, introduces the use of self-portraiture with grieving clients.  After a significant loss, the grievers often experience an altered sense of self and the world, and need to reconstruct a cohesive life narrative that is inclusive of their pre-loss and post-loss identities.  The creation […]

On the Edge

Major loss, especially of key attachment figures in our lives, can shatter a world of meaning anchored in that relationship, and leave survivors struggling to make sense of the loss and their lives in its aftermath.  When such losses occur violently and traumatically, they can further undermine core constructs of predictability, benevolence, and control, greatly […]

Impact of Suicide

The loss of a loved one to suicide can be devastating, and healing sometimes requires the support of a skilled mental health clinician.  In this two-module series, a grief therapist who specializes in working with suicide loss survivors and a mother who lost her young adult son to suicide will together describe their journey through […]

Holding onto Grief

You’ve spent years offering support to bereaved people, helping them express their grief, manage waves of disruptive emotion, process the loss, and pursue a changed life and renewed bond with their deceased loved one.  But what do you do when they respond to none of these initiatives, and remain mired in an anguishing and life-limiting […]

Dialogue With a Bereaved Mother

This haunting, compassionate, and healing dialogue highlights the art making process, products, and mystical experiences of a bereaved mother whose journey is understood and guided by the tenants of meaning reconstruction, restorative retelling, and attachment informed grief therapy.  Learners are invited into the inner workings of art therapy and a creative process with Lynne.  She […]