How do I talk to my grieving client? The “stuff” to know, and the words not to use
Jill A. Johnson-Young, MSW, LCSW
This
presentation will bring the participants into the world of grieving
clients and the experiences that have had before they reached your door.
Grieving clients have some very specific needs, and some that they are
unaware they are bringing to you. They have others that will never come
up without your invitation- and they need you to have the knowledge base
to meet those needs. Can you provide the environment and therapeutic
approach to meet their needs?
· Do you know what the dying process looks and sounds like?
· Do you have the words to re-educate your client if they misunderstood what they experienced and saw?
· Can you address the self-blame and guilt that comes with the death of a loved one by reframing it with a reality-based approach?
· Are
you fully aware of the words and phrases that no grief client ever
wants to hear, especially in the safety of their therapist’s office?
· Are you ready to really, really hold space?
Grieving
clients are facing fear, guilt, anxiety, and sadness. They frequently
put their grief needs behind those of the others grievers in their
family, and their therapist is one of the few safe places they can find
support when they are struggling. They have frequently heard they are
supposed to be experiencing “stages” and that they are not doing their
grief process they way they are supposed to.
This
presentation will provide you with a description of the dying process,
the most common experiences of grievers, the words to use and the ones
to avoid, and will frame grief work as a solution-focused process, no
stages, and not one that never ends. It will prepare you to meet your
grief clients where they are, and to walk them through to their new
life.
Objectives:
1. Participants will describe the dying process with appropriate language
2. Participants will identify the most 5 common emotions associate with grief
3.
Participants will understand the impact of the words and phrases their
grief clients have heard, and identify three ways to empower the client
to answer them
4.
Participants will be able to contrast the five stages of anticipatory
grief for a dying person versus the experience for their grief client
after a death, to create a treatment plan with their clients that has
reasonable expectations that fit the grief experience.
Bio:
Jill
Johnson-Young, LCSW, is the CEO and Clinical Director of Central
Counseling Services in Riverside. She is a certified Grief Recovery
Facilitator, and specializes in grief and loss, dementia, trauma, and
adoption issues. She has more than a decade of experience with hospice
and trains therapists and social workers in areas that include correctly
treating childhood trauma, grief and loss, and dementia care. She holds
a BA from UC Riverside, and her MSW from the University of South
Florida.
Ms.
Johnson-Young speaks on the topics of grief and loss, dementia, and the
needs of adoptive children on the local, state, and national level, and
receives positive reviews that note her engagement with her audience,
energy, and sense of humor while providing valuable information. Jill is
the creator of Your Path Through Grief, which is a year-long,
comprehensive grief support program, and the author of the soon to be
published books “Don’t Grieve like that! How to grieve your way from a
rebellious widow” and the children’s book “Someone is sick- how do I say
goodbye?” She is a member of the Purple Cities coalition in Riverside
and facilitates a dementia support group monthly.
MAP
Inland Empire Chapter of CAMFT is a CAMFT Approved CEU Provider Agency Provider # 62278
CEU Hours: This course meets the qualifications for 2 hours
of continuing education credit for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and LEPs as
required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences
Certificates: Completion
certificates will be awarded at the conclusion of the training and upon
participant’s submission of his or her completed evaluation.
Refund Policy:
If a participant is unable to attend and notifies IE-CAMFT 24 hours in
advance of the training, full reimbursement will be sent within ten (10)
working days.
Grievance:
If any aspect of the training is not to the full satisfaction of any
participant, please notify the coordinator, CEU committee chair, or
another IE-CAMFT board member. We hope to resolve any issue immediately
on-site. If not resolved, the full IE-CAMFT board will review and
resolve the issue.
IE-CAMFT wishes all participants to have an excellent learning experience.
Please notify the coordinator or other board member if you need special
accommodations. If possible, call Garry Raley at (951) 640-5899 in
advance.
Presenter Non-Appearance Policy
In
the unlikely event that a scheduled presenter does not appear for a
scheduled event, the following steps will be used to remediate
inconvenience to attendees:
An
announcement will be made to inform everyone that CEU credits cannot be
provided due to inability to meet CAMFT standards for advance notice,
etc.
The meeting will be held. Attendees will be encouraged to participate for the purpose of professional development.
If an attendee has paid for the seminar, s/he will receive either a full refund or credit for a future presentation.
If the topic will be repeated at a later time, notice of the date and time will be provided to all interested parties.
