Menu
Log in
Human Services Network of Colorado

Bereavement and Grief: a Model for Human Service Providers

  • 05/21/2019
  • 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
  • Denver Rescue Mission's Administration & Education Building, 6100 Smith Road, Denver, CO 80216

Registration


Registration is closed

According to the Childhood Bereavement Estimation Model (CBEM) more than 6% of Colorado youth will experience the death of a sibling or parent before they reach their 18th birthday. This is an underestimate of childhood bereavement, as it excludes countless deaths of other significant figures in a child’s life. Despite the prevalence of child and family bereavement across our state, many youth service workers and advocates express discomfort when assisting families who have experienced the death of an important person in their lives. This workshop is designed to provide grief and trauma education and awareness to increase professionals’ confidence and competence to better support the populations they serve. The presentation will address misconceptions and myths that can lead to misunderstandings with bereaved individuals. Participants will take an in-depth look at the developmental understandings of death and common grief reactions from infancy to adulthood. Suggestions will be offered to assist professionals in providing support while fostering growth and resilience through grief- and trauma-informed care. By exploring disruptive grief reactions and restorative grief experiences, the presenter will demonstrate the importance of responding in a manner that launches a whole-family, whole-community, preventative, strengths-based approach. The workshop will provide an example of such an approach, the Comprehensive Grief Care™ (CGC) Model.

Objectives

  • Delineate myths and misperceptions about death and grief that commonly lead to misunderstandings.
  • Identify developmental understandings of death and common grief reactions from infancy to adulthood.
  • Understand how to support grieving individuals by providing basic empathic responses that promote a grief-sensitive environment.
  • Provide referrals to local resources that can support bereaved children and families.

Presenter: Micki Burns, PhD, Chief Clinical Officer at Judi’s House/JAG Institute

Dr. Burns, has worked as a licensed psychologist with youth and families in mental health and educational settings, gaining a firsthand account of the lasting impact of unaddressed grief. She has developed and administrated training programs for mental health professionals, including serving as Training Director of an American Psychological Association-accredited predoctoral internship program. Since joining the Judi’s House /JAG Institute Team in 2012, Micki has found a professional home that recognizes and celebrates the strengths and struggles of families following a death loss. She uses her skill set to expand the reach of the Comprehensive Grief Care Model and to work towards Judi’s House/JAG Institute’s vision that no child should be alone in grief. Dr. Burns is a licensed psychologist in Colorado and an assistant clinical professor at the University of Colorado.

Eligible for 3 CEUs

Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software