Bereavement Professionals’ Insights

Left Out: Enfranchising Children’s Grief and Loss

By: Jessica Milette, MSW, RSW All human beings have the capacity to grieve: people with intellectual disabilities, those living with a traumatic brain injury, and children of all ages. However, many people can experience disenfranchised grief when someone dies. Disenfranchised grief is generally grief that is not usually openly acknowledged, socially accepted or publicly mourned.…

Cara – Intellectual disabilities and advance planning

Cara explains that people living with intellectual disabilities are growing to older ages, much like the rest of the population. And as folks are aging what we’re seeing is the need for families more so than ever, to do some advanced planning for who will take over any caregiving decision making or where that person may live, what sort of support they may need and what that’s going to look like after the parents or the guardians die so that this doesn’t become a crisis situation.

Donna – “Helping a grieving friend”

Donna shares some practical ways to help someone in grief.

Rev. Sky – “Grief is a journey”

Rev. Sky talks about her personal loss and the positive changes that happen as we journey through grief.

Corrie – Grieving during a pandemic

Corrie discuss the grieving during a pandemic

Maureen – “Unresolved conflicts”

Maureen shares about her Dad, anger, love and some tools to manage unresolved conflicts.

Maureen – “They are still your child”

Maureen explains how you find different ways of parenting.

Jacqueline – It’s an Honour

Jacqueline explains why it’s an honour to be a part of her clients healing journey

Rev. Sky – “Feeling stuck”

Rev. Sky describes being stuck and shifting.

Cheryl – “My story”

Cheryl talks about her daughter’s organ donations.

Claudia – Art and coping with grief and loss

Claudia talk about how art is especially beneficial for someone coping with grief and loss

Caileigh – Recommendations as a therapist and a griever

Caileigh discussed two recommendations for parents on how to support their child’s grief. as a therapist and a griever. The first is to recognize that being with is far more important than fixing. There’s two pieces to connection. The first being that one of the most important healing aspects to grief is feeling connected to others.