I Am A Professional

There One Day and Gone the Next : Art Therapy and Grief

This blog post contains information about using art therapy to process grief, including specific examples.

Grief and Parenting in the Disability Community

In this blog post, Carrie writes about being the parent and primary caregiver to a child with disabilities and grieving the loss of a child dying from their disabilities.

Nicole – Using Art and Creativity to Express Grief

Nicole discusses the work she does to allow access to creative outlets such as art hives and gardening.

Christian – Autonomy for the homeless

Christian discusses those who are unhoused and how they want a space that is theirs and how we need to take that seriously especially when it comes to grief

Christian – COVID amplified the inequities in society

Christian talks about those that have very little and how COVID amplified their difficulties

Christian – My process in grieving

Christian explains his grieving process and how it’s important to let people in, the power of community, and having a team that makes him feel loved and cared for

Grief Busting Zine [Downloadable!]

This zine is designed by mental health professionals and contains information about grief, different types of grief we may experience, gentle reminders on how to move through grief, as well as tips for those who may be supporting someone in their life who is grieving.

Nicole – Power of Speaking About Lost Ones

Nicole discusses the importance of sharing memories of those lost to drug poisoning and speaking their names.

Kristal – Drug Poisoning During Pandemic Stigma

Kristal discusses how the pandemic has created additional stigma surrounding those who use drugs. She dissuses how it seems like some losses are treated as more deserving of being mourned than others. Many people have had to grieve privately instead of publically within a community. She touches on the state of the public health system during the pandemic.

Caileigh – Advice to my younger self about grief

Caileigh talks about things that you can do to balance out feelings that it’s okay to experience all of the big feelings that you have, to find joy in little moments, and to find ways that you can cope with those big feelings.

Nicole – Grieving as a community

Nicole discusses the power of grieving together as a community. Finding connection and trust.

Alongside

That is also our best, and only role, when supporting a person with a developmental disability to grieve. We must be the one that comes alongside. There is no closer place we can get to. We must be present, be with, perhaps not understanding or comprehending what the person we support is experiencing, but alongside them nonetheless. We must be there, ready to provide whatever we can discover of their unique need in grief.