Thursday, September 28th, 2023

Session A – “This Sure Isn’t Your Granddaddy’s Grief!” 

We like to believe that in the “good ole days” people knew how to get grief done. Contemporary Americans are trying to grieve in a culture that expects “fast-track” grieving. No time for thorough grief. Individuals must navigate not only a loved one’s death(s) but grieve for fractured assumptions about how the world “works.” The environments in which grief unfolds are equally challenged by secondary losses, a pandemic of trauma, and residue from an epidemic.

Objective 1: Examine ways American society expects “fast track” grieving.

Objective 2: Analyze impacts of a collapsed assumptive world on grieving.

Objective 3: Describe elements of a grief-safe environment.

 

Session B – “What Do You Know Now That You Didn’t Know You Knew Until Now?”

Some grievers quickly discover “not well enough.” Healthy grieving can be sabotaged by “post-mortem discoveries.” Meaningful grief can be challenged by “reputational entrepreneurs” or “relational entrepreneurs” who want to control the deceased’s memory and legacy. Grief is a learning laboratory. Does it have to be the real you grieving for the real deceased? What harm is a little creative fiction? How can professionals navigate “spun” or fictive narratives and help grievers construct balanced eulogies?

Objective 1: Define post-mortem discoveries.

Objective 2: Describe the impact of “reputational” and “relational” entrepreneurs on grief.

Objective 3: Strategize ways to help grievers create balanced eulogies and memories.