Bereavement Professionals’ Insights

Preparing For and Coping with Special Days

Special Days can be days we have honoured with our loved ones that many others celebrate or more personal dates and milestones with your loved one. As these days approach, it can be difficult to figure out how to move through a Special Day. Do you do what you’ve always done? What do you do…

Rev. Sky – “Retraumatization”

Rev. Sky discusses trauma and re-experiencing the initial emotion had at the beginning of a loss.

Janice – “Feelings”

Janice talks about the importance of allowing our feelings as that’s the only way to get through them.

Jenn – What an art therapist can show us about processing grief

Jenn talks about how art can give a form to grief. It can give it shape and texture so it can be seen when it is often so invisible. It can also be messy which so like our grief experience

Cara – Intellectual disabilities, sharing and expressing about grief

Cara discusses how it’s very important that people living with intellectual disabilities have the opportunity to not only know about the information about the person being ill and dying and having the choice and opportunity to go to after death rituals. It’s also really important that they get the opportunity to share their story in whatever way they communicate. This can be verbally through sign language, through communication books, art, music, going for walks, being in nature

Amanda – “Reach out”

Amanda discusses the importance of connecting with others.

Keith – “Knowing what to say”

Keith gives practical advice about helping someone in grief.

Janice – “Being triggered”

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

Thoughts About Grief Counselling Playlist

Listen to the thoughts and insights of people and families living with 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.

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.…

Janice – “Grief and the whole relationship”

Janice uses a personal story to talk about how loss can be related to the whole relationship not just the death.