Grief and the Role of the Occupational Therapy Practitioner
Presented By: Jennifer H. Bradac, OT/L, LPC, M.A. Clinical Mental Health Counseling
6:30 – 8:30pm | 2.0 Contact Hours
This 2 hour course will provide an overview of grief related processes and the implications for occupational therapy practitioners and their clients who are receiving OT services while also grieving. Discussion of grief and client occupational performance within the context of the OTPF will clarify OT’s role. Strategies will be introduced for those directly providing OT interventions, specifically addressing grief processes and are centered around meaning-making and narrative work. Participants will have the opportunity to engage in personal reflective activities, including an introduction to the concept of the “Life Certificate”. Grief is highly individualized, culturally and societally formed, however, the majority of research and grief centered literature is based in and centered around Euro-American systems, creating a deficit in current, culturally sensitive, evidenced-based education and interventions. Long held grief process systems will be addressed and compared to more modern approaches for understanding grief. This course will provide OTPs with practical strategies for effectively and empathically connecting with clients, while providing therapeutically appropriate treatment to those experiencing grief. Future implications for OTPs includes addressing grief processes as they relate to disability and loss of independence, the OTP own grief process and wellness within their own context of grief and loss.
Objectives:
- HEALTH IMPLICATIONS OF GRIEF – Participants will identify the physical, cognitive, and emotional health implications experienced by clients and patients who are grieving.
- PAST VS. MODERN GRIEF APPROACHES – Participants will compare historical and evidence-informed contemporary approaches to addressing grief-related processes.
- EMPATHIC COMMUNICATION – Participants will demonstrate the use of appropriate empathic statements when engaging with clients and patients who are grieving.
- SOCIOCULTURAL INFLUENCES ON GRIEF – Participants will analyze the influence of societal and cultural factors on individual and collective grief experiences.
- PERSONAL GRIEF SELF-AWARENESS – Participants will apply a structured personal reflection activity to examine their own grief practices and beliefs.
- THERAPEUTIC USE OF SELF – Participants will explain how self-awareness of personal grief practices informs and strengthens therapeutic use of self when providing OT services to grieving clients.
- OT INTERVENTION DESIGN FOR GRIEF – Participants will apply the OT Process and Framework to design interventions that support and facilitate healthy grief processing for patients and clients.
Hosted by OOTA Mental Health Special Interest Section (SIS)