Finding Life in Grief

A one day seminar and workshops to assist parents and families with bereavement and grief due to child loss.  The seminar is not only open to TCFQ members, families and friends, but also to non-members and professionals with a particular interest in grief and loss.

We will have a Memory table if you would like to bring a photo or memento of your child to display.

Bookings

Phone the office on (07) 3254 2657 (office hours: 9.00am – 2.00pm Mon, Tue, Thu and Fri each week)

Program

Keynote Address

Finding Life in Grief: Post-Traumatic Growth

Monique Broadbent

Losing a child can be the loneliest, most dispiriting road to walk down. Often parents feel that their lives end along with their child’s life.

While the concept of post-traumatic stress is well recognised, the idea of post-traumatic growth is only now being explored through research even though bereaved parents have testified to its power for centuries.

So how do we reconstruct meaning after all meaning is ripped away?
How do we live a life in honour of our child?

Join us in sharing stories of hope, healing and growth.

Monique has a background in psychology and counselling, specialising in supporting people in crisis. She is passionate about bearing witness to the unbearable with her clients and walking alongside them on their path to rebuilding. Monique has worked with bereaved people for a decade and currently coordinates Standby: Support After Suicide in Brisbane and surrounds.

Workshops – Session 1 – 11:00am to 12:15pm

Coaching Yourself Through Grief and Loss

Craig Findlay

This workshop will help you to find ways to assist you when you are on your own.

Craig is a Certified Coach with the International Coaching Federation. He also works as a funeral celebrant assisting families in their deepest time of sorrow to say farewell in a meaningful way to a loved one who has died. Craig’s personal experiences of grief and loss gave him the understanding that grief is a pain like no other, and that our greatest need in the midst of grief is to feel heard and understood. Craig now specialises in working with individuals and groups in their understanding and exploring of their loss and grief.

In this workshop Craig will :

– Explore the essential elements of coaching yourself through loss and grief;
– Look at the different cycles of loss and grief;
– Explore ways to restore and renew hope to live beyond pain.

Grief is not a disorder, a disease or sign of weakness.
It is an emotional, physical and spiritual necessity, the price you pay for love.
The only cure for grief is to grieve.
– Earl Grollman

Empowering Young People Through Grief

Davina Donovan

This workshop will provide parents and carers with practical information and skills to best support their young person through grief. Aimed at parents/carers of pre-teens and teens, attendees can expect to walk away from the workshop with a better understanding of the grief process for young people, how grief manifests, warning signs that something is not right, and how to most effectively support them to navigate this process.

As a registered psychologist and clinical supervisor, Davina has practiced in the industry for 12 years working in prisons, not for profit agencies and private practice. She is now the Owner and Founder of Speak Teen, a Private Psychology Practice empowering young people to take charge of their social, emotional and mental wellbeing. Davina has recently published, ‘What your teen is telling me and why they’re not telling you: Practical communication tools every parent must know’, inspired by the suffering of young people and the disconnect she has witnessed between parent and child.

Davina has worked extensively in Suicide Postvention, supporting young people to safely and healthily navigate the complexities of grief. She is passionate about empowering people to reclaim their lives and live happily!

As a Vinyasa Yoga Teacher, Davina believes in holistic health and wellbeing.

Finding the Sacred in the Midst of Grief

Eileen Dielesen

To lose a loved one feels like the heart is being crushed and the ground beneath our feet is falling away. The aim of this workshop will be to uncover the sacredness in the midst of this profoundly painful journey of grief/loss. This is a gift that can heal the rift between our very own hearts and head

This workshop will be interactive, where we do a hands-on experiential exercise.

Eileen is a Holistic Counsellor and 12 Steps to Loving the Self Program Facilitator. She has 43 years’ experience working in health, healing and community services. Eileen is a sensitive, creative and inspiring practitioner who ‘walks her talk’. She works in a very down to earth way to inspire others to ‘shine’ into the greatest version of themselves.

“Grief brings a space that was once filled with great love” – E Dielesen

Before and After – A workshop to support Teen Grief

For 13-18 year olds only and limited to 10 places

Karen Lang

After the death of a sibling, we can feel lost, isolated and uncertain about who we are and what the future will be like for our family without our brother or sister.  We can feel overwhelmed with emotions we have never felt, or been prepared for, and so, we are left not knowing how to express them either. It’s difficult to watch our Mum and Dad suffer so deeply and in order to help them recover, we refrain from sharing how deeply we have also been affected. 

Karen’s workshop will give space for teenagers to understand these confusing emotions. It will teach them how to honour and acknowledge their feelings in a safe and gentle space. Karen will use art, music and group work to help express and understand these deep emotions.

Karen has a Diploma in Counselling.  She is an Art Therapist and author of the book “Courage”. Karen’s 9-year-old son Nathan died in 2001, and she has two daughters aged 24 and 16.

Workshops – Session 2 – 1:15pm to 2:30pm

Rebuilding the Bridge: Strengthening relationships after loss

Michael Ellwood

Following a loss, why do some relationships strengthen while others are challenged? The experience of loss is unique to all of us, as are the coping strategies we use. In this workshop, Michael will explore the ways in which the loss of a child may impact upon couples and families, including using examples from his clinical practice.

Participants are encouraged to share what they have found helpful in strengthening their relationships. We will then explore ideas to support the strengthening of relationships after loss, including practical strategies and tools.

Michael is a private practitioner with 15 years’ experience working in the area of couple and family relationships. His background has included couple and family therapy, work with separated couples and children, grief and loss and crisis support. He has a background in social work and holds a Masters of Counselling, and has been teaching and supervising within the University of Queensland’s Masters of Counselling program for the past 12 years.

Mindfulness: The science and practice of healing with presence

Susan Zivcec

It takes courage to grieve, as we come face to face with our genuine human vulnerability. Healing is a process of honouring ourselves as we gain acceptance of our new reality. Recent research into Mindfulness practice has helped us understand practices which can help us work toward acceptance. In this session, Susan will explore the research, explaining what mindfulness is, how it works, and give you the opportunity to experience a brief guided mindfulness meditation.

Mindfulness meditation has transformed Susan’s life, helping her heal from PTSD and the grief of the loss of her partner. Where once she thought she was permanently stuck, pushing people away with her anger and anxiety, mindfulness has transformed Susan’s relationships with her children, and all those around her, bringing levels of peace and contentment in life that she thought were only possible for others.

Now, as a qualified and MAA certified meditation teacher and mum, Susan is also undertaking a PhD on the benefits of mindfulness. Her mission : to invite you to transform your life with the practice of Mindfulness.

Creativity and Healing

Limited to 10 places

Judith Gordon

This session will explore the benefits of using the creative arts in various forms to assist us with inquiring into our experiences, the processing of pain and grief, self-awareness, communication, relaxation and much more. Sometimes when words won’t come, the arts can provide us with another language to articulate our experiences and feelings.

No particular artistic skill is required – the value is in the process and your discoveries. The work is not interpreted, judged or analysed but used to stimulate discussion and discovery.

This session is a combination of sharing information about Creative Arts Therapy and an experiential workshop.

Judith is a Creative Arts Therapist and a trained End of Life Doula. Judith’s current work includes private practice with individual clients, group programs and workshops, tertiary teaching and facilitation of a specialist program created for mothers facing a terminal illness. She has a particular interest in grief and loss and our relationship with living and dying and is passionate about the benefits of using the creative arts in therapy.

Circle of Care

Lyn Macklin and Roger Grehan

This workshop will give you the opportunity to listen to or share your story with others who have are also walking grief’s path.  Being involved in this discussion group, you will be amazed at what you can learn and what others can learn from you.

Lyn and Roger are support group facilitators and longstanding members of TCFQ.