Bereavement Professionals’ Insights

Janice – “Grieving alone”

Janice discusses grieving alone and when its important to have people around you that can listen and understand what you are feeling.

Maureen – Holiday Traditions

Maureen talks about anticipating a holiday and considering honouring a loved one

Cara – Defining Intellectual disabilities and grief

Cara discusses how grief literacy needs to be improved across the board for people with intellectual disabilities to learn more about grief, death and dying. There is a great need to include them in this natural, normal part of life that we’ll all experience.

Christian – “Remembering together in a meaningful way”

Christian discusses the power of memories.

Madelyn – Expressing your feelings

Madelyn talks about being a 2nd generation Canadian chinese and keeping grief in. She explains the importnace of expressing your feelings and not feel guilty about it

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.

Sara – Creating music

Sara explains how creating music can be a part of the grieving process

Michele – Advice to younger grieving self

Michele tells what advice she would give to her younger grieving self

Maureen – “Grief can come back”

Maureen explains however grief comes back, you are OK.

Keith – “Disenfranchised Grief”

Keith describes disenfranchised grief.

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.

Michele – Covid and virtual support

MIchele discuss support and how COVID has affected our grief in so many waysort