Bereavement Professionals’ Insights

Maureen – “Your experience of loss is unique”

Maureen explains how your experience of grief is your own.

Jessica M – It’s OK not to cry

Jessica discusses how grief is individual and finding the way forward can be different for everyone.

Jessica M – A Parking Lot Memorial

Jessica shares how her family gathered after her uncle died during COVID and how her family came up with a creative way of getting together in a parking lot.

Jacqueline – Art therapy and grieving women

Jacqueline explains how helping connect to the heart and reslience with art therapy can be very helpful

Jean – Be good to yourself

Jean shares about support and not being hard on yourself

Michael – “A story of loss and longing”

Michael relays a story of a man coping after the loss of his wife.

Janice – “Being triggered”

Janice discusses triggering, overreacting, under-reacting, and taking responsibility for the size of our feelings.

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.

Janice – “Own our feelings”

Janice discusses the goals of emotional work and arriving at a peaceful place.

Chantal – Giving space

Chantal discusses how it is good and honouring to the one you’ve lost to give space and feel everything

Chantal – Anticipatory grief

Chantal defines antipatory grief and the grief before the physical loss

Maureen – “Carrying grief”

Maureen gives an analogy of how hard it is to carry griefMaureen gives an analogy of how hard it is to carry grief.