Weaver of Workshops
"If Only..."
Action Methods and the Seasons of Mourning
In the best of worlds we encounter the death of a loved one with grace, and move through the challenges of mourning to celebrate their legacy in our lives. However, counsellors are often confronted with clients who are foundering in the demands of this journey. “If only ...that heartless doctor had told me she was sick... I had had a chance to say goodbye... she could see my children now... people would understand... I didn’t feel so lost in this... I could find the spirit to support me...”
The death of a significant person in our life brings together our past (our history of death and dying and our coping choices) our present (the interpersonal world that surrounds us) and our future (the call to new roles, the fears and discoveries). In this workshop participants will work with their personal experience of loss as the foundation of their learning. The gift of the workshop will be developing concepts and skills to help our clients to navigate the mourning landscape and to find the freedom to build a “new normal” life.
Enhanced by music, and using whole group time, small group support, and personal reflection, we will:
- work with a model that identifies points of persistent longing that hold the bereaved person at an impasse in their process. Through action insight we develop the inner observer who can offer wisdom and heart’s ease.
- Introduce and demonstrate engaging, safe and effective techniques that support clients in individual or group therapy to move through impasse to let the flow of mourning take them to reconstruction of their lives.
- Use small group practice to learn in action and develop participants’ confidence in applying them to enliven their work in a wide range of challenging situations.