This interactive workshop will use the Public Health Model of Bereavement Care as a framework to describe the many ways that professionals and community members—including clinicians, educators, researchers, and peer supporters—help meet the needs of grieving individuals and communities. A structured exercise will invite attendees to reflect on their own professional identities and explore the competencies and training needs associated with their current and desired roles.

The Keynote Speaker, Dr. Robert Neimeyer, will open the workshop by introducing an expanded version of the Public Health Model of Bereavement Care that outlines how professionals provide support across three levels (Levels 1, 2, and 3). Building on this foundation, the Plenary Speakers will describe their work as leading figures at each level. Rev. Dr. Jamie Eaddy will present on the role of a Level 1 grief educator and advocate who is tasked with facilitating grief literacy in communities. Dr. Jillian Blueford will present on the role of a Level 2 grief-informed helping professional or peer facilitator who is tasked with offering care to grievers who need additional support. Dr. Kathie Supiano will present on the role of a Level 3 specialized grief professional who is tasked with offering clinical interventions for grievers experiencing mental health challenges. Each speaker will highlight the competencies and training pathways essential to their level of practice.

The workshop will offer an opportunity to engage in dialogue with the keynote and plenary speakers as well as colleagues across the continuum of bereavement care.

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe an expanded version of the Public Health Model of Bereavement Care that considers the unique support needs of different populations.
2. Discuss the role of professionals at each level of the Public Health Model of Bereavement Care.
3. Outline competencies and training considerations that are important for professionals to consider at each level of the Public Health Model of Bereavement Care.

About the Keynote Presenter:

Robert A. Neimeyer, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of the Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, and maintains an active consulting and coaching practice. He also directs the Portland Institute for Loss and Transition, which provides online training internationally in grief therapy. Neimeyer has published 37 books, including Living Beyond Loss: Questions and Answers about Grief and Bereavement, New Techniques of Grief Therapy: Bereavement and Beyond and The Handbook of Grief Therapies, and serves as Editor of the journal Death Studies. The author of over 600 articles and book chapters and a frequent workshop presenter, he is currently working to advance a more adequate theory of grieving as a meaning-making process. Neimeyer served as President of the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) and Chair of the International Work Group for Death, Dying, & Bereavement. In recognition of his scholarly contributions, he has been granted the Eminent Faculty Award by the University of Memphis, made a Fellow of the Clinical Psychology Division of the American Psychological Association, and given Lifetime Achievement Awards by both ADEC and the International Network on Personal Meaning.

About the Panelists:

Dr. Jamie Eaddy, FT, is a thanatologist, pastoral theologian, educator, and grief justice advocate whose work bridges clinical, communal, and creative approaches to grief. She is the Founder of Thoughtful Transitions and The Ratchet Grief Project®, initiatives dedicated to transforming how individuals and communities engage death, dying, and loss. As Director of Counseling and Wellness Services at the Anti-Violence Partnership of Philadelphia, Dr. Eaddy leads trauma- and grief-responsive therapists and specialists addressing community violence and collective loss. She also serves as Affiliate Faculty in Pastoral and Spiritual Care at Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, where she teaches courses integrating theology, thanatology, and social justice.

A Fellow in Thanatology through ADEC, Dr. Eaddy’s scholarship and practice are rooted in a womanist ethic of liberation, compassion, and communal care. Her work integrates womanist theology, spiritual humanism, and public health frameworks to cultivate grief literacy and holistic healing across diverse communities. She trains grief specialists, doulas, and pastoral leaders to accompany the dying and the grieving with justice and tenderness. Her forthcoming book, Re-Membering the Self: A Womanist Doula’s Guide for Caring for the Dying, the Grieving, and the Ones Who Walk Beside Them (Wipf & Stock, 2026), centers grief as sacred, communal work.

Dr. Jillian Blueford, (She/Her) is a Clinical Associate Professor and Director of the School Counseling Program and related certificates at the University of Denver in Colorado (USA). A Licensed Professional Counselor, National Certified Counselor, and Fellow in Thanatology, Dr. Blueford’s career spans education, clinical practice, research, and service. Since 2014, she has honed her expertise in grief counseling, supporting individuals and families across diverse settings, including schools, inpatient residencies, community agencies, and private practice. Her scholarship focuses on grief counseling training, trauma-informed grief counseling, and child and adolescent grief. Dr. Blueford’s research contributions include peer-reviewed publications, book chapters, webinars, panels, podcast features, and presentations at regional, national, and international conferences. Dedicated to advancing the counseling profession, she has led initiatives to strengthen grief counseling practices—most notably co-leading the development of Grief Counseling Best Practices, endorsed by the American Counseling Association in 2024. Dr. Blueford currently serves on the ADEC Board of Directors as Secretary and Liaison to the Students and New Professionals Committee.

Kathie Supiano, PhD, LCSW, F-GSA, FT, APHSW-C, is a Professor Emeritus in the College of Nursing, and the past director of Caring Connections: A Hope and Comfort in Grief Program at the University of Utah College of Nursing. She has been a practicing clinical social worker and psychotherapist for over 45 years. Her clinical practice has included care of older adults with depression and multiple chronic health concerns, end-of-life care, and bereavement care. Dr. Supiano’s research is in clinical interventions in prolonged/complicated grief, prevention of adverse grief outcomes, suicide survivorship, overdose grief and prison hospice. Dr. Supiano is a Fellow in the Gerontological Society of America, and a Fellow of Thanatology.

Click here for continuing education (CE) and accreditation info.

Sponsored by:

The Center for the Advancement of Bereavement Care