Bereavement Professionals’ Insights

Cara – People with intellectual disabilities need to be recognized and honoured in their grief

Cara talks about grievers living with intellectual disabilities and that it’s not about those of us who are neuro-typical, giving them a voice or providing them or saying things for them. Rather, it’s that they already have a voice. They already have these experiences and they want them to be recognized, acknowledged and honoured.

Grief, Breastfeeding, and Care

In this essay, I share a bit about my story of grief and breastfeeding. I also share some thoughts about the cultural grief some people are carrying about the lack of support afforded to lactating families whose goal it is to feed their baby from their body. I use some gendered language throughout this essay…

Infant & Reproductive Loss Toolkit [Free Downloadable PDFs for Individuals and Professionals]

Navigating life, death, and loss can be overwhelming. Mental health professionals designed this toolkit for individuals, parents, caregivers, and families navigating perinatal and reproductive loss. Reactions to pregnancy and reproductive loss are as unique as fingerprints. Some can process the experience relatively quickly, while others experience unrelenting pain and grief. We hope that this toolkit…

Janice – “Risks”

Janice talks about risks in behaviour and progress.

Cara – Grief and intellectual disabilities is a topic that needs to “get out there”

Cara shares some information from a participant in her research on intellectual disabilities and the bereaved. A person with an intellectual disability said… “Grief: It’s a topic that needs to get out there” Grief is something that so many people are hesitant to talk about, to display, to show, because there’s so many social rules around how we grieve. This is particularily challenging for the intellectually disabled.

Marija – Types of Loss in a Pandemic

Marija explains how all of the losses we experience during a pandemic are compounded

Chantal – Giving space

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

Sara – Lyrics

Sara talks about how lyrics can have an impact on how we experience music

Claudia – Waterlillies

Claudia talks about how she painted on panels big enough to hug to help her with her grief

Michele – Creative expression and processing grief

Michele tells what advice she would give to her younger grieving selfMichele talks about coping that since being a child how creativity helped

Christian – “Stigma of opioid death”

Christian talks about the social acceptance of an opioid overdose.

Madelyn – The power of music

Madelyn – discusses the potency of music and processing good and bad memories