The Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement continues to be actively involved in providing assistance to people who have been bereaved through the Victorian bushfires.
 
Following a six-week secondment to the Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction Authority (VBRA), Anne Giljohann, Manager of the ACGB Bereavement Counselling and Support Service, has returned to oversee the implementation of a number of new bereavement support initiatives.
 
We have been funded for 12-months to provide Bushfire Specialist Bereavement Counsellors in four of the fire-affected regions where there has been a particular request for additional assistance. The team of five counsellors, under the leadership of Annie Norrish, will operate from the Cobaw Community Health Centre (CHC) at Kyneton, the Mitchell CHC at Broadford, the Nillumbik CHC in Eltham and the Latrobe CHC in Gippsland.

In addition, funding has been approved for 18-months to provide 12 support groups for adults bereaved through the bushfires. These groups will be located in fire-affected locations and metropolitan areas, in accordance with the requests of people wishing to attend. The first of these groups have already met in the Kinglake area. A brochure detailing these Bushfire Discussion and Support Groups can be downloaded here.

While on secondment to VBRA, Anne Giljohann prepared a document entitled Bushfire discussion and support groups for people who have lost someone close to them: Information for professionals. This document, which has been published by the Department of Human Services (VIC), outlines the principles underpinning the bushfire support group program and considers issues such as:

- What is a support group?
- Support groups not therapy groups
- How can discussion/support groups help?
- Style and format of the groups
- The role of facilitators
- Recruitment and support of facilitators
- Partnerships with local agencies
- Role of the bushfire support groups  
  coordinator
- Intake/triage
- Administrative support
- Evaluation
- Establishing groups
- Advertising the groups, and
- Location and timing of groups.

A copy of this document is available here.

It is hoped that funding will also be made available to establish groups for people who are seriously affected but not bereaved, as well as the possibility of groups for children if these are required.

ACGB staff have also been active providing a series of one-day training programs for over 300 Case Managers working with the Victorian Bushfire Case Management Service. This training has considered contemporary approaches to understanding traumatic bereavement, case studies of complex bereavement, assessment of resiliency and risk, support and intervention and compassion fatigues and self-care.
 
Remember that details on a range of bushfire specific services can be found on our dedicated web page located here.

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The 1st Australian Rural & Remote Mental Health Symposium being held at the National Convention Centre, Canberra from 2nd - 3rd November is now calling for abstract submissions.

The recent incidents of natural disaster in Victoria (bushfires) and Queensland (floods, cyclones, oil spills) have left a trail of death and destruction, shattered communities, and displaced people. Such events severely impact on the Mental Health of individual survivors and changes how a community functions.

What lessons can be learned from our response to these events? How can Mental Health professionals prepare themselves more effectively to deal with such events in rural and remote communities? How can the resources of Government, mental health professionals, emergency services, and private practitioners be better utilised for optimal benefit?

What long term planning is required to provide ongoing support, treatment and infrastructure?

Can our response to recent disasters provide the roadmap to build capacity in rural and remote areas?

Themes:
Community Preparedness & Context
Early Interventions
Medium Term Interventions
Long Term Interventions

Stream Topics:
Emergency Services & Administration
Mental Health Services Delivery
Development of Individual and Community Resilience

Confirmed Keynote Presenters include:

Prof Beverley Raphael - University of Western Sydney
Dr Helen Stain - University of Newcastle
Prof Don Gorman - University of Southern Queensland
A/Prof Sabina Knight - Centre for Remote Health in Alice Springs
Prof Peg Le Vine - Monash University
Prof Gavin Andrews - University of New South Wales
Dr Keith Miller - Flinders University

For further details contact: http://www.anzmh.asn.au/rmha9/

Corden, A., Hirst, M. and Nice, K. (2008) Financial Implications of Death of a Partner, Social Policy Research Unit, University of York, York.

Authored by Anne Corden, Michael Hirst and Katharine Nice, this research report investigates the economic and financial consequences of bereavement for a surviving spouse or partner and their household, using a mixed methods, prospective design.

The study involves a quantitative element based on longitudinal analysis of the British Household Panel Survey, and a qualitative element comprising personal interviews with people at different life stages whose partner has died.

Among its key findings the study found that older women faced increased risk of persistent or recurrent poverty for two or three years after the death and that perceptions of adverse change in financial circumstances following a partner's death were related to increased psychological distress among women, for up to two years after the death.

The research will contribute to debate about personal responsibility for financial affairs, and institutional arrangements that shape the financial impact of bereavement.

For further details, including a link to download the report, please visit the:
Social Policy Research Unity at the University of York, UK

Parents are losing up to $600,000 in lost income and take, on average, sixteen weeks of unpaid leave following the death of their child, according to a new report. The report, Beyond the Death of a Child, identifies the social impacts and economic costs to families and the community during the first three years following the death of a child.

The Compassionate Friends Victoria commissioned the two year research study which commenced in October 2004.

Almost half (46%) of the 103 bereaved families interviewed incurred significant medical, hospital and other health related costs (including counselling) and over 70 per cent of these experienced moderate to extreme difficulty in meeting such expenses. One couple whose 21 year-old daughter was killed in a car accident had to stop counselling after just two sessions because of the costs. Only a reduced counselling charge and financial help from local churches allowed the counselling and other debts such as funeral costs to be met.

Of the 103 bereaved families interviewed for the report, 23 parents chose, or were forced, to resign from their employment following the death of a child. The periods of leave taken varied from a low of two weeks to a high of two years and eight months, with an average leave without pay of 15.5 weeks that cost family members around $8000 on average. Almost three quarters of the family members indicated that the impact on their work performance was very or extremely significant.

The report also put forward 20 recommendations directed to government and non-government bodies covering: bereavement support programs, economic costs, employment, education and research.

The report was undertaken by Dr Jon Stebbins and Dr Trevor Bartrouney, who between them have extensive experience in social research and working with bereaved families.

Emeritus Professor Dennis Klass of Webster University, St Louis, a leading researcher on bereavement, said of the report: "Beyond the death of a child is ground breaking. The study expands our understanding of the effects of a child's death well beyond the scope of the previous scholarly and clinical literature about bereaved parents and their families".

The authors of the report were Dr Jon Stebbins, D.Ed., Traumatic Bereavement Consultant & Researcher and Dr Trevor Batrouney, Adjunct Professor, RMIT University.

The report, Beyond the Death of a Child, identifies the social impacts and economic costs to families and the community during the first three years following the death of a child.

PDF downloads of extracts from the report are available below as well as an order form to purchase the full report.

For further information, including a link to download an order form for the full report or a summary of the report, refer to the following page
Beyond the death of a child research report.

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, and currently we provide services for over 1,000 new people each year.

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 Service
This 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 Service
This 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 telephone services operate Monday to Friday from 9.00am to 5.00pm.

In addition, the service provides over 22 bereavement support programs throughout Victoria and bereavement counselling services in a number of locations. For further information telephone the service on (03) 9265-2111.

Since the inception of the Compassionate Employer Recognition Awards in 2004, 86 Victorian organisations have been recognised for their outstanding support to their employee following the death of a loved one.

The annual recognition program, conducted by The Compassionate Friends Victoria Inc., providing Mutual Support Self Help services to bereaved parents, siblings and grandparents, was initiated to acknowledge and highlight organisations that were going above and beyond standard workplace bereavement practices.

In recognising organisations supportive practices towards bereaved employees, the Awards program brings greater community awareness to grief and loss and the impact on employment and work. The Awards inspire and encourage organisations and workplaces to review their current practices, and provide best practice and practical examples of effective ways of incorporating bereavement support into the workplace.

Further information, including nomination forms can be found here.

Special Offer

On an average day, around 90,000 mourners attend cemeteries throughout Australia. We mainly visit to help manage our personal grief.

Life after death presents twenty-four unique and captivating case studies of bereavement. Mourners of diverse social and cultural backgrounds relate various personal experiences of loss through the deaths of children, siblings, spouses, parents and grandparents.

This 291 page book by the Victorian researcher Dr. Philip Bachelor, explores the phenomena of bereavement, mourning and commemoration.

This book is available within Australia for $12.95 (plus $5 postage and handling). Outside of Australia it is available for $AU11.65 (plus $AU15 postage and handling).

Purchase online within Australia

Purchase online outside Australia

Download an order form