As contemporary models of bereavement have become more nuanced and empirically informed, so too have the practices available to grief counselors and therapists. This workshop offers in-depth training in several of these techniques, nesting them in the context of current theories and research that provide flexible frameworks for intervention. Making extensive use of actual clinical videos as well as how-to instruction in the use a numerous therapeutic tools, we will discuss and practice several methods for helping clients integrate the reality of the loss into the ongoing story of their lives, while also reconstructing their continuing bond to their loved one. Part 1: Processing the Event Story of the Death In this presentation we will consider techniques for helping the violently bereaved process the "event story" of the death itself, anchoring such work in both contemporary meaning reconstruction and dual process models and related research. Part 2: Accessing the Back Story of the Relationship Death may end a life, but not necessarily a relationship. Drawing on attachment-informed and two-track models of bereavement, we will begin by considering grieving as a process of reconstructing rather than relinquishing our bonds with those who have died.
10/01/13 - 10/01/13, Bryant Conference Center