Dear colleague,
Welcome to the May edition of the Grief Brief, the monthly e-newsletter of the Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement (ACGB).
Following the devastating bushfires in Victoria in February we made a request for assistance from bereavement practitioners. There was a generous response to this request with offers received from 305 counsellors who were prepared to provide their services on a voluntary basis.
Some of these offers have been taken up, but we are finding that most of the people contacting us for bereavement support following the bushfires need counsellors who can visit them in their local area, so some of you will not have heard from us at this stage. Because of the high levels of trauma in the experience of these clients we are particularly keen to work with practitioners with specific skills in traumatic bereavement.
In the immediate aftermath of the fire, the primary focus for most people has been on material assistance such as housing, clothing, financial support and other needs. We expect that the need for bereavement counselling will become more apparent as time goes on. Our sincere thanks to those people who offered their services. It is a mark of the generosity of the bereavement field that so many people have offered to assist.
The Australian Center for Grief and Bereavement was proud to host the 8th International Conference on Grief and Bereavement in Contemporary Society in Melbourne in July 2008. I am pleased to announce that the 9th International Conference on Grief and Bereavement in Contemporary Society will be held from June 21 - 25, 2011 at the InterContinental Miami, Miami, Florida USA. This meeting will be hosted by the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC). The 33rd Annual ADEC Conference will be held concurrently with this international conference. Further details on the conference will be available from the ADEC website in the coming months.
In the past month we have released two new podcasts from the 8th International Conference on Grief and
Bereavement in Contemporary Society, held in Melbourne, Australia and
hosted by ACGB in July 2008. The first is a keynote presentation by Prof. Grace Christ on The Six Year Mourning and Reconstitution Process of Widows of Firefighters Lost in the 9/11 Attacks. Accompanying this podcast is a copy of the presentation notes by the author which have been included as part of the podcast feed. To subscribe to these, and other presentations visit this link.
We have also recently produced a new brochure titled About grief, which can be downloaded here.
Christopher HallDirectorAustralian Centre for Grief and Bereavement
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International Educator 2009
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We are delighted to announce that
Dr. John R. Jordan will be the 2009 International Educator, and will present workshops in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane and Adelaide from 23rd July to 7th August 2009.
Jack Jordan is a licensed psychologist in private practice in Wellesley, MA, and Pawtucket, RI, USA where he specializes in working with loss and bereavement. He is also the founder and until 2007 was the Director of the Family Loss Project, a research and clinical practice providing services for bereaved families. He has specialized in work with survivors of suicide and other losses for more than 30 years. Jack maintains an active practice in grief counselling for individuals and couples. Jack will present two one-day workshops:
Program 1
21st Century Approaches to Grief Counselling and Therapy
Program 2
Traumatic Loss: Bereavement After Sudden, Unexpected and Violent Death
Download a program brochure.
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International Conferences
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 June 21 - 25, 2011 9th International Conference on Grief and Bereavement in Contemporary Society and ADEC 33rd Annual Conference InterContinental Miami, Miami, Florida USA  April 7-10, 2010 ADEC 32nd Annual Conference Death, Dying and Bereavement: It's All About the Story Hyatt Regency Crown Center Kansas City, MO USA The abstract submission site for this conference has now opened and a call for Concurrent Session and Poster Abstracts has been made. Visit the conference site here. Keynote speakers will include: Britt Hysing-Dahl,
a pioneer within the field of hospice and palliative care in Norway.
She is currently a clinical social worker at Bergen University Hospital
working with seriously ill and dying patients. She is the CEO of the
Norwegian Society Western Norway, CEO of the largest nursing home in
Norway and City Counsellor of Bergen. Thomas Lynch,
essayist, poet and funeral director of Lynch & Sons funeral home in
Milford, Michigan. He is regularly featured on the op-ed page of The
New York Times, The Boston Globe and The Times of London. Robert Neimeyer,
PhD, is professor and director of psychotherapy research in the
Department of Psychology, University of Memphis. Prof. Neimeyer is
editor of two respected international journals, Death Studies and the Journal of Constructivist Psychology
and a former president of ADEC. The author of over 300 articles and
book chapters, he is currently working to advance a more adequate
theory of grieving as a meaning-making process. _________________________________ |
Statewide Specialist Bereavement Service
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The Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement provides two toll-free telephone services for bereaved Victorians and those who care for them. Bereavement Information and Referral ServiceThis service provides information and referral assistance to members of the general public who need information on bereavement services available within Victoria. The service can also provide information on bereavement related issues. The service is unable to provide telephone bereavement counselling to callers. Download a copy of our brochure or call 1300 664 786. Practitioner Consultancy ServiceThis service provides information, consultation and support for practitioners who are working with bereaved clients experiencing complex and prolonged bereavements. Download a copy of our brochure or call 1300 858 113. Both services operate Monday to Friday from 9:00am to 5:00pm. The ACGB is funded by the Department of Human Services to provide a statewide specialist bereavement service for individuals, children and families who need assistance following the death of someone close to them. A range of specialist services and programs are provided across Victoria. Volunteers are integral to the delivery of the wide range of services provided by the ACGB. |
Practice Snapshot
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A challenge to grieveRecently we received a request to visit a lady in a nursing home who had experienced a significant bereavement and the staff felt she would benefit from bereavement counselling. She suffers from a severe chronic illness and is unable to speak. However she understands everything that is said, communicates with her eyes and is able to respond with sounds of laughter or crying. When we first took the referral we wondered how we could effectively help this lady. However I felt that I would be able to communicate with her, and I made an arrangement to visit her. On my first visit, a staff member who knew this lady well, joined in the interview. Interestingly, this staff member had also had a significant bereavement. Being able to give the lady permission to grieve by giving information and asking questions, so that she could answer yes or no, was very helpful to her. It is commendable that the staff recognised the need for this acknowledgement and expression of her grief. We cannot underestimate the value of giving everyone this opportunity. What a privilege it is to work in this area and to know that you can make such a difference.  Annie Norrish Coordinator - Community Outreach Service Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement
Do you have a practice snapshot that you would like to share? Email your reflection here. They should be approximately 200 words in length. _________________________________
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Save 20%
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BEAR IS NOW ASLEEP
A profoundly moving story of love, hope and renewal.
'If
only I hadn't gone to work that day. If only I had gone to the soccer
gala day instead. If only Caroline and India had walked a foot to the
left or to the right. If only they had passed those goalposts a second
or two sooner, a second or two later. If only India had been walking on
Caroline's right, not left.
If only.'
One June day in 2003
William Verity's beloved three-year-old daughter, India, was killed
when she was hit by a falling portable goalpost. She was singing and
dancing to her favourite Wiggles song, Rock-a-Bye Your Bear, minutes
before the accident.
Far more than a simple diary of events,
this moving account of a family in crisis explores many of the bedrock
issues of life that challenge and confront us all. From the remarkable
opening words about the random nature of death to the final embrace of
an enduring love, this is a gently uplifting and inspiring narrative,
in which William wrestles with the idea that life may end in death, but
love endures for ever.
Reviews
'An
astounding presence of love shines throughout this story. We tremble at
the enormity of grief that comes with the death of a child. We
recognise - uneasily - that our own hold on life is tenuous and
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miracle of her life, however brief, and that love liberates grief.
Wiilliam Verity has written a courageous and inspiring book.' Anne
Deveson, journalist, broadcaster and author of TELL ME I'M HERE
'When
your child dies it is like being thrown off a cliff; it doesn't feel
like you can possibly survive. In this book William Verity takes us on
his journey of survival as he copes with the unthinkable. This is an
inspiring and tender account of how he and his family regain control
over their lives to see beyond death to love.' Paul Field, manager of
The Wiggles
With a RRP of $27.95, Bear is now asleep is available this month only for the special price of $19.95 plus p&p.
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Puchase Bear is now asleep - Within Australia
Purchase Bear is now asleep - Outside Australia
Download an order form
Offer Expires: June 15th 2009 |
This newsletter is sent to over 6,000 subscribers every month to keep you informed of what is happening in the fields of grief and bereavement, as well as what's new at ACGB.
Archive copies of the Grief Brief can be located here.
http://www.grief.org.au
Phone: +61 3 9265 2100
Facsimile: +61 3 9265 2150
Freecall: (Australia wide) 1800 642 066
This newsletter is published by the Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement
©2009 Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement Inc.
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New International
Conference Keynote Presentation Released
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The Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement has a podcast stream and makes available at no charge recordings of significant presentations.
A podcast is a series of files which are distributed through an internet feed, to portable media players and personal computers. A podcast is subscribed to, and downloaded automatically when new content is added.
These enhanced podcasts contain both audio and images and are accessed through the free iTunes program which can be downloaded here
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In the past month we have included additional recordings of keynote
presentations from the 8th International Conference on Grief and
Bereavement in Contemporary Society, including a keynote presentation by Prof. Grace Christ on the Six Year Mourning and Reconstitution Process of Widows of Firefighters Lost in the 9/11 Attacks. Included are a set of lecture notes which address the lecture content.  Prof. Grace Christ |
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