Grief Skills Training for Private Practice Groups
Empower Your Practice, Transform Lives
Why Choose Our Grief Skills Training?
Unresolved grief is one of the top 3 reasons people are seeking help these days. I provide online grief skills trainings to mental health clinicians in group practices. My program is designed to bridge the gap in your training, ensuring you are fully prepared to support clients in their most vulnerable moments.
Is your staff grief-informed?
Do they know how to guide a family therapy session when a loved one dies suddenly?
Do they know how to handle “disenfranchised grief”?
Would they know what to say to a child or teen to inform them of a suicide loss?
Can they recognize the signs/symptoms of grief and how to distinguish them from a mood disorder or a thought disorder?
Does your staff still work from the outdated Stages of Grief model?
Does your staff know how to support each other when a client or coworker dies?
Mental health professionals often experience discomfort when addressing grief with their clients for several interconnected reasons:
Lack of Training: Most mental health clinicians receive limited or no formal training in effectively addressing loss and grief. This lack of preparation can lead to uncertainty and anxiety about navigating these sensitive conversations.
Personal Discomfort: Discussing loss and grief can evoke personal fears and anxieties. Confronting their own mortality and experiencing their emotions can make these conversations challenging.
Cultural and Religious Sensitivity: Grief is expressed differently across cultures and religions. Mental health professionals may feel uncertain about how to address diverse cultural beliefs and practices, potentially leading to unintentional insensitivity.
Fear of Emotional Outbursts: Professionals may worry that discussing grief could trigger strong emotional reactions from their clients or their families, making the situation difficult to manage.
Emotional Toll: Engaging with grieving individuals and families can be emotionally draining. Clinicians worry about becoming too emotionally involved or struggling to manage their own emotions while supporting others.
Communication Concerns: Mental health professionals worry about saying the "wrong" thing or inadvertently causing more distress for the patient or their loved ones. They may lack confidence in their communication skills in these delicate situations.
Perceived Lack of Resources: Professionals may feel that they lack the necessary resources, tools, and support to effectively address grief and provide meaningful assistance to grieving individuals and families.
Unpredictable Reactions: Grief responses can be highly unpredictable. Mental health professionals may fear being ill-equipped to handle intense emotional reactions or unexpected challenges that arise during these conversations.
What You’ll Learn About:
Different types of grief
Different types of losses
Signs and symptoms of grief
Grief theory models
Ways to address grief and loss directly with clients
Questions to ask clients to explore grief
Criteria & risks of Prolonged Grief Disorder
Be fully prepared to support your clinicians and community
To address these challenges, it's crucial for clinicians to receive comprehensive training in grief skills and communication. Offering support, resources, and ongoing professional development can help therapists feel more confident and capable in addressing grief with their clients. By addressing these underlying reasons for discomfort, mental health clinicians can better provide compassionate and effective care to clients and their loved ones during times of loss and grief.
Training Description
Course Title: Understanding and Addressing Grief: A Comprehensive Training for Group Practice Staff
Course Description: In today's landscape, the recognition of the profound impact that various forms of loss can have on both us and our clients is more crucial than ever. This impact often manifests as fatigue, depression, anxiety, somatic pain, panic attacks, sleep disturbances, and more. This course is designed to equip participants with the knowledge and tools to address the diverse dimensions of grief within their client interactions.
The 4-hour online training, complemented by a comprehensive resource sheet, delves into the multifaceted nature of grief. Participants will explore various grief types including anticipatory grief, disenfranchised grief, ambiguous and nonfinite loss, and complicated grief. Moreover, the course will provide insights into the recently introduced DSM 5-TR diagnosis of Prolonged Grief Disorder and factors contributing to client vulnerability.
Grief permeates every facet of our existence – cognitively, physically, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. Armed with the awareness of how grief uniquely manifests in clients, participants will learn to identify, label, and normalize these experiences. This workshop facilitates the acquisition of conversation-opening questions, guidance on sensitive language use, and resources tailored to assist both practitioners and clients. The integration of grief considerations into treatment planning will also be a central focus.
Course Highlights:
Recognize at least 3 distinct types of grief.
Gain knowledge about 5 diverse forms of loss.
Identify at least 5 common symptoms of grief.
Explore 4 established models of grief counseling theory.
Learn 3 effective strategies to directly address loss and grief during client sessions.
Acquire a repertoire of 5 purposeful questions for facilitating grief exploration.
Understand the diagnostic criteria for Prolonged Grief Disorder.
Identify risk factors associated with Prolonged Grief Disorder.
The learning experience extends beyond the initial training, as participants will reconvene for a 1-hour follow-up meeting 2-4 weeks later. This session will provide the opportunity to process insights, seek clarifications, and address any lingering questions.
By the conclusion of this course, participants will possess an expansive toolkit to sensitively and effectively engage with clients experiencing grief. They will be empowered to offer support, guidance, and intervention, ultimately enhancing your practice's ability to address the intricate landscape of grief with empathy and proficiency.
What People are Saying
“I sought Debi's expertise for training our group practice during a time when the weight of the many losses from Covid felt overwhelming. What I found most helpful was her signature process for how to navigate the sessions following a loss - providing us with practical insights on what to actually say and do. In my supervisory role, I've since witnessed a boost in my clinicians' confidence since training with Debi. They are not shying away from the work and it’s working!”
Katie Keates May - Creative Healing Teen Center - Visionary Therapist and creator of becomeagroupguru.com
“Debi was a pleasure to work with throughout the entire training process, and the breadth and depth of her knowledge about grief is impressive. Her warmth and passion for working with grief were very apparent and she provided us with many resources for working with grief.”
Anni Kelley-Day - Palo Alto Therapy
“I loved the way she talked about our roles being more than just listening and “holding space”. She encouraged me to keep playing an active role in the therapy room.”
Contact
Complete the form for more information about online grief skills training or to schedule a 20-minute connection call.
We’ll talk through any questions you have and discuss strategies and resources specific to you or your group practice.
I love staying in touch! Look for a follow-up email so I may learn about your progress and answer any other questions you may have.
