Bereavement Professionals’ Insights

Christian – “Overdose Death”

Christian talks about an overdose death not defining who that person was.

Janice – “Feelings just are”

Janice explains the importance of listening to, trusting and honouring ourselves and our feelings.

Jenn – Art can give voice

Jenn talks about the barriers that may prevent someone from including art as part of their grief or emotional process including judgment of your art skills and more.

Janice – “Go into feelings”

Janice explains how important it is to pay attention to your feelings.

Teresa – Understanding people with intellectual disabilities and grief

Teresa shares an example and discusses the importance of truly understanding people with intellectual disabilities when they are telling us their stories

Keith – “Grief at any age”

Keith discusses grief and age.

Shannon – Losing is a life skill

Shannon shares about losing her husband to suicide, her parents and her father-in-law. She felt broken and to be able to take care of her kids and her self seemed overwhelming. It took someone telling her that you can heal from trauma to give her hope for healing.

Michele – Normalizing conversations around death dying grief and loss

Michele discusses grief literacy, the importance of talking and that dying is a part of life

Rev. Sky – “It gets easier”

Rev. Sky talks about time and allowing emotion.

Claudia – Materials in art therapy

Claudia discusses all of the wonderful options of materials to use in art therapy. Art, markers, clay, pencils, water collours, cutting, tearing. They physical engagment with the materials is like alchemy.

Collective Grief

When the death of a person affects many members in a community, city, country, or across the world, people will experience collective grief.

These are some things that can help people through the experience of collective grief across a community.

Chantal – What is art therapy?

Chantal explains how art therapy helps us express in ways that words can’t