Grief During The Holidays

The end of the year, with all of its holiday celebrations in many segments of the population, typically brings out significant feelings of loss and loneliness due to grief. 2020 and 2021 have been especially poignant given the separation that has been necessary both while supporting dying loved ones, and while trying to maintain meaningful family traditions of holiday celebration. This workshop will look at the implications of prolonged grief (formerly known as complicated grief), and the effects it is having on individuals’ in their personal lives and work lives. We will also discuss ways of working with clients to cope with the sadness and stress this season may produce for them.

Participants will gain an appreciation of the phenomenon of prolonged grief and how it can manifest during the holidays, even years after a loved one’s death. Participants will also be given tools for working through the grief process during the holidays.

Chris is a 1998 graduate of Alfred Adler Graduate School, and a Licensed Professional Counselor. Since her initial internship in hospice support, she has been amazed by how much of life’s problems are tied to a person’s sense of loss – real, imagined, or anticipated. Gaining the tools to work through the grief people experience, has been a large part of her various practices over the last 20 years