Total Training Time: 2 Hours | CE Credit: 2 CE Hours | Format: Live on Zoom

Course Description

This 2-hour continuing education session focuses on skill-building and practical strategies to strengthen compassionate grief support. Participants will explore core components of grief-informed helping, including active listening, emotional presence, and supportive communication techniques that foster safety and validation. The training will also address the role of meaning-making in grief and how individuals can be supported in processing loss in ways that align with their values, culture, and lived experience. In addition, participants will be introduced to grief-specific activities and interventions that can be adapted for children and adults across different environments, including clinical, school, and community settings. Participants will leave with concrete tools that can be implemented immediately to enhance grief support practices.

Target Audience & Instructional Level

This introductory training is open to mental health professionals, educators, school support staff, child-serving professionals, healthcare providers, and community-based helping professionals who support children, adults, and families impacted by grief and loss. This training is also appropriate for caregivers and other professionals seeking foundational knowledge and practical strategies for grief support.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Demonstrate active listening and compassionate communication strategies that support individuals experiencing grief.

• Identify and apply grief-specific interventions and meaning-making strategies that promote healthy coping for grieving children and adults.

Presentation Schedule: 2 Hours (2 CE Hours | APA-Approved & NBCC Approved)

Hour 1: Compassionate grief support skills and active listening (1 CE)

• Principles of compassionate grief support
• Active listening skills: presence, reflection, and validation
• Responding to emotions
• Building safety and connection in grief support conversations

Hour 2: Meaning-making and grief-specific activities/interventions (1 CE)

• The role of meaning-making in grief and healing
• Practical strategies to support narrative sharing and remembrance
• Grief-specific activities for children and adults (individual and group settings)
• Brief Q&A and implementation planning