Being with grief, loss and sadness – Supporting older adults

 7:00pm - 9:00pm AEST 17 August   

For older adults, grief is multi-faceted, layered and complex.  It is not uncommon for feelings of grief and loss to be minimised or over-normalised, which can lead to various forms of disenfranchised grief.  Disenfranchised grief is most simply described as the experience people have when they feel they do not have the right to grieve and that their loss experiences are minimised or ignored.

This workshop will explore the ways in which we can both acknowledge and support people in living with the experience of loss and grief at all levels of their lives.  We will explore options for re-enfranchising the grief experience and creating space for communication around the meanings of loss/change events in the lives of older adults.  The concept of empathic failure and its role in contributing to disenfranchised grief will be a focus in this workshop which will combine theoretical ideas and experiential learning.

At the conclusion of the workshop, participants will be able to:

• Describe the broad range of loss events that can be experienced amongst older people.
• Identify a range of strategies that can be used to support older adults when they experience grief and bereavement.
• Understand the concept of disenfranchised grief and empathic failure in relation to this population group.

Attending webinar counts as 1.5 hours of Category A CPD (Continuing Professional Development). Watching a recording of this webinar can be used as 1.5 hours of Category B CPD.

You must attend 75% of a webinar in order to receive a CPD certificate for Category A CPD.

About the presenter – Dr Greg Roberts

Greg holds a Doctor of Philosophy (grief and bereavement focused) and works as a Counsellor, Educator and Social Worker. Since 2001, Greg has focused almost exclusively on working with grief, bereavement and trauma. Prior to that Greg worked in acute and community health settings focusing on older adults, men’s health and people living with disabilities. Having worked for Red Nose Australia, Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement and Peninsula Home Hospice, Greg currently works as the Victorian Manager of Support After Suicide (Jesuit Social Services) and has a small private practice, working as a counsellor, group facilitator, educator and clinical supervisor. Greg has presented lectures and workshops on grief, loss, bereavement and trauma to a wide variety of practitioners across Australia since 2008. Greg is a founding committee member of the Victorian Loss and Grief Practitioner’s Association.

PACFA Members $35(incl. GST)
Student Members $25 (incl. GST)
Non-Members $50 (incl. GST)

Event Cancellations
Customers seeking to cancel their registration more than 5 working days (for courses) and 48 hours (for webinars) prior to the event date may request a credit to be applied to their account. Cancellations must be made in writing to [email protected]. Cancellations made with less notice than this are non-refundable or exchangeable. Credits will be accessible through the PACFA Portal and are valid for up to a year from the purchase date. This policy is at the discretion of PACFA and may change. Queries should be directed to [email protected].