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Jly 17, 2020

Children's Cultural and Linguistic Competency Learning Series: Understanding Grief and Loss from a Multi-Cultural Standpoint

Children's Cultural and Linguistic Competency Learning Series:  Understanding Grief and Loss from a Multi-Cultural Standpoint

 

Date: Friday, July 17, 2020

Time: 12:30pm-2:00pm

We live in a multicultural society today so when it comes to grieving and mourning, it is important to be aware that every culture has its own beliefs, traditions, and rituals, which influence the way they grieve and receive support. Bereavement is often a time of chaos and confusion and rituals and customs around death can provide a sense of routine and normalcy for the bereaved.  We will discuss the differences between grief, bereavement, and mourning between cultures (Native American, Asian-American, African American, Latinx etc.). Additionally, we will learn about general gender differences in grief as well as the consequences of living during a global pandemic and how the need for social distancing has created more complexity around grief for so many.  Recognizing grief responses of various groups allows people to begin to understand the grief experience of an individual within that group. However, in improving our cultural awareness we will also speak to the importance of not assuming that we know how one individual grieves based on their cultural group identity or association. There are many variations even within homogeneous cultures.

Lisa B. Athan, MA

Presenter:

Lisa B. Athan, MA, is the Founder and Executive Director of Grief Speaks, an organization dedicated to normalizing grief and loss in our society by means of delivering informative and relevant presentations, workshops and professional training sessions in the area of grief, loss, trauma and healthy coping in the lives of children, teens and adults. Lisa also presents on Social Emotional Learning to support schools in being trauma sensitive in order to create safe classrooms and communities to help all students to have the opportunity to succeed and thrive.  
 
 Lisa has a website griefspeaks.com that is full of information and resources to help support children, teens and adults coping with grief, trauma and losses of all types.  Lisa serves on the NJ Traumatic Coalition for Youth in two counties: Union and Essex/ She is a lead responder and has been trained in Post-Traumatic Stress Management.  Lisa also is the co-creator of Camp Clover, a NJ bereavement day camp for children 7-15. There Lisa is the onsite children's bereavement specialist and runs the sharing circles. The camp is going into its 10th year.   Lisa also works with individuals, groups and families who are coping with a loss in person or virtually.  Lisa Athan has an M.A. in Counseling from MSU and is a certified Grief Recovery Specialist. She has worked in the field of mental health for many years.  

Course Objectives:

  • Participants will understand the terms grieving, mourning and bereavement as well as the difference between cultural competence, cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity, and cultural humility.
  • Participants will improve cultural competency as it relates to different cultures and grief
  • Participants will be able to identify death rituals from four or five different cultures, and to determine what is considered an appropriate emotional expression in that culture.
  • Participants will be able to understand how to determine what role family, friend, and religious networks play in providing support during the mourning process for their client.

Timed Agenda:

  • 12:30pm-1:00pm: Intro- Introducing grief, loss and bereavement, opportunity for participants to consider their own heritage and values around grief and loss. Discuss terms around cultural competency. 
  • 1:00pm-1:30pm: Discuss different cultures as they relate to grief and loss; death rituals; mourning traditions; teach cultural terminology. Discuss ways to support grievers from various cultural groups. 
  • 1:30pm-2:00pm:  Discussion, Q and A, sharing stories and resources

Relevance this presentation has to social work: Today social workers assist clients and families from various cultural and racial backgrounds. Social workers work with various populations that experience grief and loss, especially in this time of a pandemic. Some losses are non-death related for example sickness, job loss, eviction, food insecurity, loss of connection due to social distancing, etc. 

Many people are experiencing grief, anger, loss, and a multitude of other emotions since the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and many others. The Black Lives Matter movement is one reason why it is so important to gain an understanding of grief and loss across a multitude of cultures and groups. 

Who Should Attend: Direct Service Providers, Administrative Professionals, Teachers, Children's Therapists, Youth Pastors, Juvenile Justice Professionals, Youth, or any other professions specializing in children and youth services.


Continuing Education Information:

  • SOCIAL WORKERS:  1.0 hour continuing education credit is approved for this training. 
  • QUALIFIED CHILDRENS MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS (QCMHP): This training hour meets the MDHHS training requirement for QCMHP staff. 
  • TRAINING HOURS: This training will count 1.0 hour toward the annual training hours required by most provider agencies.
  • No NBCC Hours are provided for this training.

CREDITS

This training is approved for 1.0 credit for Social Workers (MI-CEC). This training meets the MDHHS training requirement for Children's Mental Health Professionals (CMHP). Participants must arrive on time and remain in the training for its entirety to receive credits, including any Q&A portions. Late arrivals and early departures will result in the deduction of awarded training hours & credits.
 

 

If you have questions regarding the training, contact Marika Orme at Morme1@dwihn.org

 

 


By joining us at this event, attendees consent to Detroit Wayne Integrated Health Network's Detroit Wayne Connect photographing, videotaping and using your image and likeness.


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