Healing the Wound of Loss: What you need to know to support yourself and the ones you love through grief and trauma
Posted
STAR Catholic Schools, in collaboration with Connections Psychological Services, is welcoming
all parents, families, and community members in Drayton Valley for an evening presentation:
April 11th, 2023
7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
St. Anthony School, Drayton Valley
About the presentation: After a death, you can feel disoriented, confused, isolated, and lonely. It can be very painful. The "help" others give you may not be very helpful. There can be lots of sadness, anxiety, and anger that is difficult to handle.
As caregivers, parents, and friends, we may want to do or say something to take away the pain, but the words can fall flat and not convey the comfort we want. This can be especially true during multiple, surprise, and "out of order" deaths.
At first, we might need some simple advice on how to survive the initial shock. As time wears on, we need to learn how to live with the continued pain of grief.
As we go through grief, we do not need lots of words and platitudes. We need someone to walk alongside us and sometimes we need to be carried. We need to connect and have what we are going through noticed and acknowledged. We need to learn to take care of ourselves and be kind to ourselves internally.
During this presentation, Paul will talk about and demonstrate some practical ways to get these needs met and how to help carry each other effectively.
About Paul: From an early age as the son of a pastor, Paul observed how people dealt with grief and trauma. His main working years (about 35) were in schools as a counsellor and Psychologist walking alongside children and parents through their griefs and traumas. For the last five years since retired from working in schools, Paul has worked as a therapist specializing in supporting adults going through grief and trauma, mainly with EMDR and CBT.