Professional Development Courses
Tuesday, April 14 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Wednesday, April 15 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Introduction to Thanatology: Dying, Death and Bereavement
Faculty: Madeline E. Lambrecht, EdD, RN, FT and Sherry R Schachter, PhD, FT
Intended Audience:
The Introduction to Thanatology Course is intended for those new to the field of thanatology and individuals who are working as volunteers and support staff with critically ill, dying or bereaved individuals. This course will also be helpful for professionals (nurses, physicians, psychologists, social workers, chaplains, funeral directors, police, EMTs, etc.) who may have little formal education in thanatology and are working with the critically ill, dying or bereaved.
Course Description:
This course gives an overview and summary of the field of thanatology based upon the Body of Knowledge published by ADEC. It explores the social, cultural, psychological, legal/ethical and spiritual issues raised by illness, dying, death and bereavement. All information is relevant to everyday life and most specifically to those practitioners providing support to the dying and bereaved. The course will explore the meaning of death and examine personal attitudes and fears, in order to understand the grieving process and basic grief support throughout the life span.
New! Password-protected course Web site. Easy access for novice Web users. Meet course faculty and other participants online before coming to Montréal! Access pre-conference reading assignments and other course materials at your convenience. Print materials will be available for those without Web access.
Recommended Text:
Balk, D. (Ed.). Handbook of Thanatology: The Essential Body of Knowledge for the Study of Death, Dying and Bereavement. Northbrook, IL: Association for Death Education and Counseling, The Thanatology Association. ISBN: 978-0-415-98945-9
Faculty:
Sherry Schachter PhD, FT, the director of bereavement services for Calvary Hospital/Hospice where she develops, coordinates and facilitates educational services for staff and families. Schachter is a recipient of the prestigious Lane Adam’s Award for Excellence in Cancer Nursing from the American Cancer Society and for more than 27 years has worked with dying patients and their family caregivers. She previously worked at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer in New York City for 23 years where she was an attending grief therapist and the coordinator of the hospital’s bereavement program. She has a private practice in New York City and Pennsylvania and also publishes and lectures on issues related to dying, death and loss. She is a past president of the Association for Death Education and Counseling, and a member of the International Work Group on Death, Dying and Bereavement.
Madeline Lambrecht is a past president of ADEC and currently serves as president of the Delaware End-of-Life Coalition. She is the director of the Division of Special Programs and professor of nursing in the College of Health Sciences at the University of Delaware. She teaches an online death education course for practicing healthcare professionals, teachers, counselors and others providing care and support to the terminally ill and bereaved. Lambrecht has been an educator, counselor and consultant on loss-related issues for more than 30 years. She had a private practice, Life Stress Consultants, for 15 years and has published journal articles and created computer and videodisc software focused on providing compassionate care to the dying and bereaved. Her videodisc, Bereavement Counseling: Bereavement Support Strategies received several national awards including a bronze medal at the International Film and TV Festival of New York.
Intermediate Course: Grief Counseling
Faculty: Valarie A. Molaison, PhD, FT
Intended Audience:
This course is designed for all professionals who have at least two years of experience working with the bereaved.
Course Description:
This course examines key concepts related to the human response to loss and the facilitation of healthy bereavement. Topics include theoretical models of the grief experience, risk and resilience, developmental, cultural, family and other mediating factors in normal, uncomplicated bereavement using the most current research and theoretical perspectives in the field. The course will explore specific strategies and counseling tools to effectively companion with individuals, couples, families or groups coping with loss.
Recommended Text:
Worden, J.W. (2009). Grief Counseling and Grief Therapy: A Handbook for the Mental Health Practitioner (4th Ed.). New York: Springer. ISBN: 08261-01208
Faculty:
Valarie Molaison, PhD, FT, is a licensed psychologist and clinical director of Supporting Kidds: The Center for Grieving Children and Their Families in Hockessin, DE, which provides consultation, support groups, counseling and educational programs for bereaved families, as well as community education and consultation to professionals who work with bereaved families.
Molaison is adjunct clinical associate professor at Widener University.
Molaison is a fellow in thanatology, certified by ADEC. She speaks regionally and nationally on topics related to dying and bereavement and is known for her practical and humorous style and ability to actively engage participants from a wide range of disciplines. She has written three resource books:
School Survival Kit: Helping Students Cope with Grief in the School Setting
Survival Kit for Families: Tools for Healthy Grieving
Survival Kit for a Caring Community: Supporting Bereaved Families
Advanced Course: Complicated Bereavement and Grief Therapy
Faculty: J. Eugene Knott, PhD, ABPP
Intended Audience:
Psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, licensed professional counselors, nurses, physicians, pastoral counselors, or anyone with professional training seeking advanced skill development in bereavement intervention with challenging cases.
Course Description:
A significant percentage of individuals who lose a loved one struggle with prolonged and debilitating grief that merits professional intervention. The goal of this course is to draw on contemporary models and research findings that help distinguish between benign (or resilient patterns of grieving) and those that are more complicated, traumatic or entail greater risk to the bereaved person’s psychosocial adaptation, health and interpersonal relationships. The course will acquaint participants with specific conceptual and practical tools for evaluating and intervening in such complications.
Recommended Text:
PDFs and Word documents will be sent to registrants before the conference.
Faculty:
J. Eugene Knott, PhD, ABPP, is a psychologist and associate professor of human development and family studies at the University of Rhode Island and a . He is a former ADEC president. He is published in the areas of death education and grief counseling and a frequent presenter to clinician groups on matters of bereavement and mourning, especially following traumatic and complex deaths. He is a member of the Thanatology Minor and Certificate Committee at the University of Rhode Island. A knowledgeable and award-winning presenter, Knott was the 2005 recipient of the ADEC Contribution to the Field Award.
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