Meeting the Needs of a Grieving Community: Bereavement Training After COVID-19

5-Part Self-Study Webinar Series
NYSED and ASWB/ACE Approved for 12 CE Contact Hours

Original Live CE Webinar Series presented on April 20, 27; May 4, 11, and 25, 2021

This program was made possible by a generous grant from the Y.C. Ho/Helen and Michael Chiang Foundation.

This recorded presentation is viewable online from a computer via streaming video. Once your registration and payment are received, a link will be forwarded for access to the videos and instructions for taking a post-test and evaluation. All online continuing education programs require the completion of a post-test and evaluation for receipt of credits.

With the unprecedented number of deaths from COVID, social work and mental health agencies will be caring for bereaved individuals and families for many years to come. Most of these organizations do not have mental health practitioners with basic training in grief and loss. For every person that has died of COVID, it is estimated that nine (9) close family members are affected, with communities of color losing a disproportionate number of loved ones (Verdery et al, 2020). These mourners will have special needs due to the suddenness of the death; forced separation during their loved ones final days; loss of physical touch; saying good-bye over Zoom/FaceTime/phone; the absence of traditional mourning rituals (funerals, shiva, gathering with family and friends) and grieving in isolation (Litchtenthal, et al, 2020).

This 5-part recorded series covers the overall frameworks of grief theory with a particular focus on losses during the pandemic and as a result of COVID-19. Participants will be educated on working with individuals who have prolonged and complicated grief and the unique needs of working with children and/or with bereaved parents.  Attendees will also have an understanding of best practices for interventions to support those coping with a loss.

Module 1: Frameworks of Grief

Assessment across the lifespan, the role of attachment, major theoretical frameworks, physical and symbolic losses

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Define the terms grief, loss, and bereavement
2. Describe the role of attachment in assessment and intervention with grief
3. Explain the difference between physical and symbolic losses
4. Identify the impact of lifespan development on grief, loss, and bereavement

Module 2: Losses during COVID

Shared trauma, societal and micro losses, themes of social justice, burnout

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Describe how losses during COVID are different from losses experienced other times
2. Explain the role of societal and micro losses on the experience of grief
3. Identify opportunities for self-assessment of burnout, compassion fatigue, and self-care related to COVID

Module 3: Working with Children and Families around Loss and Perinatal Loss

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Describe the influence of child development on the understanding and meaning of death for children
2. Identify a set of tools as resources to engage children around issues of loss, death, and bereavement
3. Utilize basic techniques for interventions with children and their families dealing with loss and death

Module 4: Prolonged and Complex Grief, and the role of Trauma

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Describe the impact of trauma on the experience of grief
2. Differentiate between typical and disordered grief
3. Explain best practices to support a person with Prolonged Grief

Module 5: Best practices for Interventions with Grief and through the Bereavement Course

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

1. Discuss the best practices for bereavement interventions with adults
2. Identify which practices are appropriate for the participant’s level of skill and setting
3. Demonstrate working knowledge of bereavement practices for typical grief work

Lead Instructors:

Nancy Cincotta, LCSW, MSW, MPhil, CPA

Psychosocial Consultant; Faculty, Zelda Foster Studies Program

Nancy Cincotta LCSW, MSW, MPhil, CPA received her Master’s Degrees and Certificate in Narrative Medicine at Columbia University. She is an internationally recognized expert on the effects of life-threatening and chronic illness on children and their families, as well as end-of-life and bereavement issues. She serves as a consultant to non-profit, hospital, and academic organizations and is currently on faculty at Columbia University, the Zelda Foster Studies Program at New York University, and Smith College.  She is widely published and has received numerous national achievement awards for her work with individuals, families, groups, and in retreat settings, which spans over 40 years.

Abigail Nathanson, DSW, LCSW, APHSW-C ACS

Psychotherapist; Adjunct Assistant Professor, NYU Silver School of Social Work; Faculty, Zelda Foster Studies Program

Dr. Nathanson graduated with her MSW and DSW from NYU. Her work focuses on clinical practice in serious illness and grief work from a trauma-informed lens, and she has 15 years of clinical and leadership experience in healthcare. She does consulting work and has a private practice focusing on these issues. Dr. Nathanson is the co-editor of the forthcoming textbook, "The Practice of Clinical Social Work in Healthcare" from Springer Press, and she holds advanced designations in EMDR, AEDP, Meaning-Centered Psychotherapy and Clinical Supervision, and holds board certification in Palliative Care. She has presented nationally on topics relating to caregivers, program development and best practices for medical social workers.

Special Lecturers:

Eunju Lee, LCSW, APHSW-C

Clinical Oncology Social Worker; Certified Clinical Supervisor; Mentor, Zelda Foster Studies Program; Board Member, SWPHN

Lisa Petgrave-Nelson, LMSW, OSW-C

Oncology Social Worker; Leadership Fellow, Zelda Foster Studies Program

Solimar Santiago-Warner, LCSW

Perinatal Palliative Care Social Worker; Zelda Foster Post-Master’s CertificateGraduate

To register for this seminar, please log in to our Online Registration Portal and select this event from the "All Events & Programs" tab, under the "Conferences and Events" section.

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Fee

General: $150.00

10% discount for NYU Silver School of Social Work Alumni (BS/MSW/DSW/PhD)

10% discount for current NYU Field Instructors and Educational Coordinators

10% discount for Zelda Foster community members

Please note: Discounts cannot be combined.

Once you register, no cancellation or refund will be available. Registration and payment gives you immediate access to the self-study.

NYSED and ASWB/ACE approved for 12 Continuing Education Contact Hours.

55 jurisdictions accept ACE-approved provider CE contact hours. ACE is not an approved Continuing Education provider in the states of New York (though NYU Silver is NYSED CE approved in NYS) and West Virginia, unless the event is outside of West VA. ACE only approves individual courses in New Jersey, though NYU Silver is CSWE-accredited and therefore accepted for licensed NJ professionals. Here is a full list of statutes related to social work CE.

NYU Silver School of Social Work
Office of Global and Lifelong Learning
285 Mercer Street, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10003

Email: silver.continuingeducation@nyu.edu
Phone: 212.998.5973
Fax: 212.995.4497