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Certification

Level 1 Certification in Grief Therapy

Level 2 Certification

Meaning-Focused Grief Therapy (MFGT)

Family-Focused Grief Therapy (FFGT)

Grief Therapy for Non-Death Losses (NDL)

Art-Assisted Grief Therapy (AAGT)

Grief Therapy for Traumatic Loss (GTTL)

Training

In-Person Training

Working with Continuing Bonds in Grief Therapy: A Clinician’s Toolbox

When Dying Is Well Accompanied: A Quest for Meaning in Terminal Illness

Grief Therapy Learning Retreat

Live Online Training

Grief and the Expressive Arts: Activating the Creative Imagination

Recorded Training

Speakers Bureau

Contact

ACORN PLMS

Recorded Training

Death of a Partner, Death of a Parent:
Tools for Personal Reconstruction & Reorientation

Spousal / partner loss is often experienced as a profound loss resulting in significant disruptions in one’s daily life and major changes in the social world.  Whether the couple relationship used to be loving and intimate or ambivalent and conflictual, the surviving spouse / partners commonly need to review their sense of identity, life goals and relationships with the surrounding others, as well as reorganize their daily routines and reset their relational roles and directions in life ahead.  At the same time, spousal / partner loss often implies parental / grandparental loss for the affected children / grandchildren in the family.  As parents / grandparents may play multiple roles and instill different influences in children’s daily life and personal development, regardless of age, the departure of such a parental figure may result in a great sense of loss and disorientation for the bereaved children as well. 

In this module, we will examine the unique features in spousal / partner loss and parental / grandparental loss.  We will also introduce two conversation guides – the “RINGS for Life” and the “House the LIGHT” that are tailored for these two losses respectively as possible tools to facilitate meaning reconstruction with the bereaved spouse / partner and the bereaved children / grandchildren.

Note:  This 2.75-hour CE module focuses on topics related to psychological practice, education, or research other than application of psychological assessment and/or intervention methods that are supported by contemporary scholarship grounded in established research procedures.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • Describe the unique impacts resulted from spousal / partner loss and parental loss;
  • Facilitate bereaved spouse / partner’s reflection of post-loss stressors and re-establishment of post-loss life and identity; and
  • Explore the parental influences in bereaved children’s lives and utilize the continuing bond as a resource for their post-loss adjustment.

Earn 3 Continuing Education (CE) Credits

Portland Institute for Loss and Transition is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.  Portland Institute for Loss and Transition maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Portland Institute for Loss and Transition, [Provider number 1954], is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program.  Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers.  State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit.  Portland Institute for Loss and Transition maintains responsibility for this course.  ACE provider approval period: 09/09/2025-09/09/2028.

Earn 1 Credit for Technique Module toward
Certification in Meaning-Focused Grief Therapy
or Certification in Family-Focused Grief Therapy
Offered by the Portland Institute.

 
 

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

This program contains the following video segments:

  • Working with Widowhood: Intrapsychic and Interpersonal Dimensions (43 mins)
  • Who am I Now: Reconstructing the Self after Conjugal Loss (57 mins)
  • Loss of a Parent: A “Holding Frame” for Bereaved Children and Teens (36 mins)
  • House the Light: A Tool for Grieving Adult Children (27 mins)

Death of a Partner, Death of a Parent:
Tools for Personal Reconstruction & Reorientation

Purchase without CEs
Purchase with APA CEs
Purchase with ACE CEs
USD$99 for 3-hour module / USD$124 with CE Credits

GRIEF TRAINING FACULTY​

Carolyn Ng

PsyD, MMSAC, RegCLR
Singapore

Carolyn Ng, PsyD, MMSAC, RegCLR maintains a private practice, Anchorage for Loss and Transition, for training, supervision and therapy in Singapore, while also serving as an Associate Director of the Portland Institute.  Previously she served as Principal Counsellor with the Children’s Cancer Foundation in Singapore, specialising in cancer-related palliative care and bereavement counselling.  She is a registered counsellor, master clinical member and approved supervisor with the Singapore Association for Counselling (SAC), a Fellow in Thanatology with the Association of Death Education and Counselling (ADEC), USA, as well as a consultant to a cancer support and bereavement ministry in Sydney, Australia.  She is a trained end-of-life doula and advanced care planning facilitator.  She is also trained in the Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) by the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, USA, community crisis response by the National Organisation for Victim Assistance (NOVA), USA, as well as Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) by LivingWorks, Canada. Her recent writing concerns meaning-oriented narrative reconstruction with bereaved families, with an emphasis on conversational approaches for fostering new meaning and action.

Find out more at: www.anchorage-for-loss.org.

Testimonials

I really liked the session and learned a lot about myself throughout this experience. I learned a lot of practical skills and strategies that I can use for myself or even for my clients in between and during sessions.

Sarah Abi-Khaled

It was great learning and reinforcement of the value of making meaning for one’s posttraumatic growth. I really like the way you model validation and reframing in your case studies. Meeting a client where they are and then facilitating with one of interventions you’ve given, in their moment of readiness. Teaching and modeling this is very helpful to watch unfold.

Celeste Miller

I appreciate so much how Dr. Neimeyer and Dr. Ng explain, present and model the use of the techniques throughout the workshop. Both Drs. Neimeyer and Ng are top in their field. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting so many other faculty at the retreat–all of whom are experts in this field. I look forward to participating in the certificate program.

Beth Bowman

I enjoyed the whole seminar – very informative and well organized.

Stephanie Enos

Deeply moving, well-supported with theory and research, extremely useful and inspiring. The slides were beautiful and engrossing. I’m sure we were all looking closely and deeply, in a parallel process with the screen and within ourselves.

Robin Roberts

I was very moved by the instructor sharing her personal experience as well as her art. Having her client present to share her loss and her art was also powerful and impactful. The learning from this class was deep and sustaining.

Paula Lowden

I truly loved everything. I particularly enjoyed the combinations of lecture and experientials.

Kristen Moore

The entire retreat was amazing. It was perfectly paced for learning and creating. It was both personally powerful and professionally. I loved the Lunch and Learn.

Brenda Daly

I am extremely impressed by this conference. The topics, the presenters. It was well worth the time and money.

Cynthia Crockett

Thank you for a beautiful retreat. I was moved to tears several times and it has set me on a course of deeper discovery. The presenters were all top notch, knowlegeable, and engaging. The activities allowed us to discover many things about ourselves and sharing the experience with others was invaluable. Those interactions will stay with me for a long time.

Jean Edwards

Honored & grateful for the PI team. Such a wealth of knowledge, expertise & compassion for humanity & healing suffering. I cannot wait to engage further with the PI trainings!

Nola Simpson

This is my first experience with PI and now I have found my go-to place for ongoing learning, mentoring & connection! I’m so excited for more! 

Monica Hanza

Well done!  Appropriate breadth & nice depth of skills covered. Appreciate the experiential approach. Knowledgeable & supportive faculty. Looking forward to doing more with PI in the future.

Allison Ilem

PI’s Grief Therapy Learning Retreat offered a safe holding space for grief professionals to gather in a beautiful setting & learn with prominent leaders in the field of thanatology. Professional yet warm, rigorous yet invigorating — I’m leaving with a sense of renewal to meeting clients where they are.

Lisa A. Rainwater

The retreat, the attendees, the faculty, the leaders and the offerings (learning opportunities) were really off-the-charts amazing. Thank you for creating an event that has been transformational for me.

Sheila Henderson

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If you have questions about Portland Institute or some of our offerings, please click the button below to visit our Frequently Asked Questions section – where many common questions are answered!

FREQUENTLY ASKED questions