ABSCo Annual Conference 2018
10th and 11th July 2018
Trinity University College, Leeds
Robert A. Neimeyer, PH.D.
Grief Therapy as Meaning Reconstruction:
Creative Practices for Counselling the Bereaved
Conference aims:
As contemporary models of bereavement have become more nuanced and empirically informed, so too have the practices available to bereavement counsellors and therapists. This two-day workshop offers in-depth training in several of these techniques, nesting them both within the therapy relationship and in the context of current theories and research that provide flexible frameworks for intervention. Robert Neimeyer will introduce several methods for helping clients integrate the reality of the loss into the ongoing story of their lives, while also reconstructing their continuing bond to their loved one.
Conference chair: Kate Gowshall, St Joseph’s Hospice, Hackney
Programme:
Day 1 (10th July): Processing the Event Story of the Death
Beginning with a discussion of a trauma-informed Meaning Reconstruction model of adaptive and complicated grief, we will consider the power of presence as a fundamental dimension of the therapeutic “holding environment” and the construction of a safe relational container for a healing “re-telling” of the loss experience. Participants should conclude the session with a clearer appreciation for the challenge to meaning associated with tragic bereavement, and an expanded toolbox for using metaphor, body- work and a variety of narrative procedures for helping clients make sense of the loss and their response to it.
Day 2 (11th July): Master Class: Accessing the Back Story of Relationship
Drawing on attachment-informed and two-track models of bereavement, we will begin by considering grieving as a process of reconstructing rather than relinquishing our bonds with those who have died, and the circumstances that can interfere with this natural process. A close process analysis of a pivotal therapy session with a woman contending with prolonged and intense grief will sensitize participants to various impediments to reorganizing the “back story” of the ongoing relationship with the deceased, as well as to several techniques that can help move such work forward. Participants will leave with several tools for addressing factors that complicate grieving.
Additional Information
- This workshop is aimed at those who are already working with bereaved clients.
- Participants can choose either to attend Day 1 as a stand-alone workshop, or to attend both days as a 2 day package, including buffet dinner, evening bar with music provided by COIL from Doncaster, and overnight bed and breakfast campus accommodation.
- Day 1: Registration from 9:00, workshop 9:30-4:30. Includes cold buffet lunch.
- Day 2: ABSCo’s AGM 9:15-10:30; Masterclass 11:00-3:30. Includes cold buffet lunch.
- The Day 2 Masterclass can only be attended by those who have already attended Day 1.
- It is also possible to book overnight bed and breakfast campus accommodation for the night of 9th July.
Cost
Day 1 (10th July) only:
– ABSCo members £110; non-members £140
Day 1 and 2 (10th & 11th July) incl. hot buffet dinner and overnight B&B campus accommodation on 10th:
– ABSCo members £260; non-members £310
Overnight B&B ensuite campus accommodation 9th July £42
ABSCo members must have renewed their membership for 2018-19.
Robert A. Neimeyer, Ph.D., is Professor in the Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, where he also maintains an active clinical practice. He has published 30 books, including Techniques of Grief Therapy and Grief and the Expressive Arts: Practices for Creating Meaning (both with Routledge), and serves as Editor of the journal Death Studies. He is the author of nearly 500 articles and book chapters. He runs frequent professional workshops for national and international audiences. The founder and Director of the Portland Institute for Loss and Transition, Neimeyer also has served as Chair of the International Work Group for Death, Dying, & Bereavement and President of the Association for Death Education and Counseling. In recognition of his scholarly contributions, he has been granted the Eminent Faculty Award by the University of Memphis, made a Fellow of the Clinical Psychology Division of the American Psychological Association, and given Lifetime Achievement Awards by both the Association for Death Education and Counseling and the International Network on Personal Meaning.
** Please note there has been a change to payment methods. Payments are made via PayPal or BACs only. We no longer accept cheques. If you or your organisation pay by BACS, it is essential that your invoice number and/or your name are entered in the reference field so that your payment can be correctly credited to you.
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