We will all lose someone we love at some point in our life (most of us at many points) and the loss can often hit us harder than we expect. This loss can become complicated and prolonged, lasting for years. So, this session of Prolonged Grief Therapy will help guide clients through certain “milestones,” or markers in their emotional recovery process. The therapist becomes a facilitator to help clients get “unstuck.” In this webinar we will define these “milestones” to help clients move forward through their difficulties, dealing with reminders and memories of the person who has passed. Grief counseling will help clients learn to grieve in a healthy manner and understand and cope with the emotions they experience to ultimately find a way to move on.
Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:
- Develop an increased understanding of grief.
- Develop 5 “milestone” markers for clients.
- Help Clients identify & correct irrational thinking processes.
- Help Clients decrease extreme grief symptoms.
Syllabus:
Objective #1: Deepening Understanding of Prolonged Grief Disorder
- Define prolonged grief disorder and its clinical criteria
- Recognize symptoms lasting beyond one year including persistent yearning, emotional pain, and functional impairment
- Identify common comorbidities such as major depression, PTSD, anxiety, and substance abuse
- Explore contributing factors like childhood trauma, sudden loss, and social isolation
Objective #2: Identifying Grief Indicators and Emotional Patterns
- Explore client examples to assess unresolved grief
- Review key areas of inquiry including physical symptoms, emotional triggers, and anger
- Recognize psychological symptoms such as avoidance, intrusive thoughts, and emotional numbness
- Understand long-term cognitive issues like disbelief, doubt, confusion, and focus on unresolved pain
Objective #3: Recognizing Behavior Patterns of Stuck Grief
- Identify signs such as persistent memorializing, social withdrawal, identity fixation on the loss, and an unwillingness to move forward
- Discuss emotional and somatic indicators including crying, exhaustion, and digestive disruptions
- Understand the role of abreaction and emotional memory loops
Objective #4: Developing Milestone Markers for Healing
- Support clients in acknowledging the reality of the loss and integrating it into their narrative
- Facilitate dialogue with internal parts such as the “hurting self” using parts work language
- Help clients develop self-awareness, emotional regulation, and future-oriented thinking
- Explore five healing milestones: understanding the loss, regulating emotions, envisioning the future, strengthening relationships, narrating the story
Objective #5: Living with Memories and Reminders
- Encourage healthy coexistence with memories through acceptance and reflection
- Explore how clients can find peace with triggers and remember loved ones with compassion
- Support clients in developing a continued bond that promotes healing rather than prolonged suffering
Objective #6: Challenging Irrational Beliefs and Cognitive Distortions
- Identify and correct harmful belief systems including self-blame, false guilt, and avoidance of emotional experience
- Explore internal belief statements and their impact on grief processing
- Address common resistances such as minimization, emotional shutdown, and isolation
- Promote internal consent to move forward through affirmations and cognitive reframing
Objective #7: Decreasing Extreme Grief Symptoms
- Normalize grief as a process and support clients in embracing it without shame
- Use the therapeutic alliance to provide validation, empathy, and presence
- Promote symptom relief through connection, reduced judgment, problem-solving, and reengagement with social support
- Guide clients in identifying unmet needs and ways to satisfy them through healthy behaviors
Conclusion and Integration
- Reinforce the importance of understanding grief as a multi-dimensional process
- Highlight six core milestones of recovery and their role in client progress
- Emphasize practical application of tools and strategies shared in both parts of the training
- Encourage clinicians to continue supporting clients in developing adaptive, self-compassionate approaches to healing
Social workers completing this course receive 2 Clinical asynchronous continuing education credits.
For other board approvals, this course qualifies for 2 Clinical continuing education training.
Instructor: Dr. Paul Hardy, D.Min. NMAC, CSAC
Recording Date: April 23, 2024
CEUS On-Demand, LLC, provider #2274, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 08/7/2026 - 08/6/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 2hrs Clinical continuing education credits.
CEUs On-Demand, LLC has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7091. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. CEUs On-Demand, LLC is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
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Request for Special Accommodations: Learners can request special accommodations by contacting the administrative team at admin@ceus-ondemand.com