Association for Death Education and Counseling: Resources and Insights
The Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC), also known as The Thanatology Association, stands as a pioneering interdisciplinary organization dedicated to the field of dying, death, and bereavement. This international professional organization is committed to fostering excellence and embracing diversity in death education, care for the dying, grief counseling, and thanatology research. ADEC envisions a world where dying, death, and bereavement are acknowledged as integral and significant facets of the human experience.
The ADEC logo incorporates two ancient Chinese symbols, yin and yang, superimposed on a sacred disk. This sacred disk is an age-old symbol representing the universe in numerous cultures. ADEC offers a variety of resources and learning opportunities, including professional development sessions, higher education courses, and resources for medical schools.
Professional Development and Learning Opportunities
ADEC provides professional development and learning opportunities for its members, including higher education courses and resources for medical schools. A series of sessions were presented at ADEC’s virtual Conference. These sessions offer ADEC members unique insights and tools for navigating the complexities of death, dying, and bereavement.
A Legacy of Virtue: Ultimate Self-Defining Memories Across Adulthood
Reflecting on one’s own death prompts human thought, particularly concerning how one will be remembered after death. A study involving young, middle-aged, and older adults (N = 205) explored this concept. Participants narrated a self-defining memory in the context of either how they might be memorialized or describing their current self, then rated their memory for virtues. The study revealed that individuals across age groups desired to be remembered as virtuous. Young adults represented themselves as more virtuous in the Memorialization condition compared to the Current Me condition, while middle-aged and older adults showed no significant differences. This suggests that the impact of reflecting on death on one’s self-definition varies depending on their stage of life.
Presented by: Emily Mroz, MS
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Black Grief Through the Eyes of the Black Panther
The film Black Panther (Fiege & Coogler, 2018) effectively captures the essence and nuances of lived experiences, loss, and bereavement within Black communities. It highlights the heterogeneity within populations of African ancestry. This presentation uses an intersectional lens to analyze how themes in the film mirror patterns of traumatic violent loss, non-death loss, and cumulative loss in Black communities. The presentation centers the bereavement experiences of two young adult male, blood-related cousins, of African ancestry and issues that arise as they grieve the violent deaths of their fathers in distinct familial, social, economic, political, and geographic contexts. In particular, it explores issues unique to homicide grief in racialized-gendered-class-based contexts, cultural strengths and conflicts that may arise in the intergenerational transmission of values, including the “duty to carry on,” family betrayal (secrecy), and the centrality of ancestral connections for bereaved Black youth and families. It also provides implications for research, clinical practice, and programming with Black youth and families.
Presented by: Tashel Bordere, PhD
Death and Non-Death Loss in the Lives of LGBTQ+ People
LGBTQ+ identity interacts with loss in a complex manner that affects multiple realms of functioning. Disenfranchised grief may further isolate the individual. LGBTQ+ people may also experience external barriers and loss of social support. LGBTQ+ people and individuals with minoritized ethnic identities may experience additional marginalization. This presentation shares common losses experienced by LGBTQ+ people, such as those frequently inherent in coming out, and unique facets of universal losses such as bereavement. It also provides research-based information about resilience-promoting resources practitioners and loved ones can utilize to support and advocate for the LGBTQ+ individuals in their lives.
Presented by: Laura Wheat, PhD, LPC, NCC
Doll Making and Trauma Loss
Doll making is presented as a transformative art therapy technique that is effective in the treatment of traumatic loss. Anchored in grief and bereavement theory, doll making is explored through the lens of the Constructivist Theory of Meaning Making, as a vehicle for narrative and identity reconstruction, sense making, benefit finding, and Attachment-Informed Grief Therapy, where creative process and concrete, transitional object support exploration of the continuing bond. Case studies demonstrate the efficacy of this art therapy modality as the bereaved engage a non-verbal process that “targets sensory-emotive-cognitive processing areas of the brain that are needed for psychological transformation."
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Presented by: Sharon Strouse, MA, ATR-BC, LCPAT; Sarah Vollmann, MPS, ATR-BC, LICSWD
Dying, Funerals, Memorial Services, and Bereavement - COVID Challenges and Best Practices
Death is a part of life, and the pandemic caused the work of healthcare professionals and funeral professionals to be different and more difficult. These professionals experienced grief overload, being exposed to more loss than normal in a short amount of time. This panel discussion explores how dying during the pandemic impacted both COVID-19 deaths and non-COVID-19 deaths. It addresses the challenges for funeral service providers and how the impact of dying and death during the pandemic changed the experience of planning funerals and memorial services. Resources for supporting funeral professionals are identified, and therapeutic interventions provided by creative, innovative bereavement programs for bereaved families and emotional support for staff and front-line workers are examined. The challenges of fatiguing physical labor, PPE protocols, work conditions placed on a workers’ health, and potentially the health of family members are described. Professionals have learned best practices that will likely change care provided in the future.
Presented by: Rick Bissler, Becky Lomaka, Sherry Schachter, Fay Green
Evocative Experiences in Bereaved Parents
Evocative experiences, which have been described as visual or auditory stimuli that evoke a sense of the deceased, can contribute to bereaved individuals’ ability to adaptively reconstruct the meaning of their loss and enhance their sense of connection to the deceased. Though these have been clinically observed in the bereaved, they have been minimally studied and are frequently misunderstood or misjudged. This presentation characterizes evocative experiences described by 21 bereaved parents in qualitative interviews. Their role in facilitating meaning reconstruction and continuing bonds to the deceased, as well as clinical implications of these findings, are discussed.
Presented by: Kailey Roberts, PhD; Wendy Lichtenthal, PhD
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Global Perspectives on Loss, Grief, and Bereavement in the Year of the Pandemic and Beyond
At a time when the world is awash in death and non-death losses ushered in by the pandemic, humanity is confronting its collective vulnerability as never before. Drawing on their extensive expertise in the grief of children and adults, in the end-of-life and in bereavement, in diverse communities in the US and abroad, and in resilient and complicated adaptation to loss, the panelists share brief statements regarding the problems and prospects faced by our field as we seek new footing in a changed world. Limiting themselves to 5-7 minutes of remarks, each panelist attempts to strike sparks to kindle a conversation about issues of universal relevance, opening a rich dialogue with the audience in this session and in the many others in the conference to follow.
Presented by: Drs. Robert Neimeyer, Tashel Bordere, Stephen Connor, Ken Doka, Donna Schuurman, Katherine Shear
Grief Professionals: Managing Your Worry, Stress, and Anxiety While Working in a Pandemic
Living through the pandemic was an experience no one wants to repeat. As grief professionals, individuals have been in the unique position of being an important resource to anyone and everyone coping with the global pandemic. Yet at the same time, they realize they too are having their own reactions and challenges to all that has changed. Just as healthcare workers have donned PPE to protect themselves from physically contracting Covid-19, grief professionals have found ways to draw from their “Psychological PPE” to remain resilient and ensure their own emotional well-being. This presentation shares more about the challenges being faced and strategies to cope with these unique stressors. ADEC grief professionals representing hospice/end-of-life care, chaplaincy, private practice, and academia share their perspectives.
Presented by: Patti Anewalt; Rick Forest; Fay Green; Carla Sofka
I’m Not Ready: Preparing Families for Physician-Assisted Death
As more states legalize physician-assisted death (PAD), the need for counselors to assist families of individuals considering this life-changing decision is on the rise. Grief is often considered a post-death experience, but anticipating the loss of a loved one elicits unique and complex experiences of grief. Counselors can be a strong support for individuals and families experiencing anticipatory grief as their loved ones pursue PAD. This session discusses anticipatory grief related to PAD and counselors’ roles in providing competent and ethical care for impacted family members. Presenters provide culturally informed intervention strategies to support these clients across the lifespan.
Presented by: Jillian Blueford, PhD, LPC, NCC, CT; Nancy Thacker, PhD, NCC
Impermanence, Thresholds, and Grief Care: Bibliotherapeutic Responses
Grief and bereavement care often include a re-working of one’s story. Spouses become widowers; life after loss is transformed to life living with loss; and there and then morphs into a new here and now. Stories change as thresholds are crossed. To step over a threshold is a move from one place to another. This experiential session addresses challenges to the model of continuing assumptions. Participants are presented with perspectives and tools for crossing thresholds using bibliotherapeutic grief care. Links to classical and creative grief and bereavement care are included.
Presented by: Ted Bowman, MDiv
Introduction to Grief Counseling
This practice report explores issues that are unique to grief counseling, including identifying specific interventions and strategies that may assist grief counselors in their support of bereaved individuals. Emphasis is placed upon how to facilitate the healthy unfolding of grief as an adaptive process and the responsibilities of counselors to ensure they are practicing in ways that are competent and ethical. Current issues and trends are also discussed, such as the intersection of grief and trauma, identification of when grief may require further intervention, and use of technology in supporting individuals who are grieving.
Presented by: Darcy Harris, PhD, FT
It Wasn’t Your Fault: Helping Grieving Children and Adolescents Understand Feelings of Guilt
People of any age can feel guilty after someone they care about dies. As part of their developmental “egocentrism”, young children often lack logical reasoning and believe that everything has to do with them. Adolescents can experience “renewed egocentrism” as they focus on developing their identity. This may lead them to ruminate about topics like death and loss. Grieving children and adolescents can benefit from reading and viewing fictional characters who are going through situations like their own. This presentation explores activities using a variety of books and movies that focus on the topic of “guilt and grief".
Presented by: Kathryn Markell, PhD; Marc Markell, PhD
Loving Again After Loss: Issues, Benefits, Strategies
Falling in love again is challenging for widows. The dichotomy between the desire for companionship and love and respect for the previous relationship is a conundrum. Many questions arise when a widowed person steps into the possibilities of new love. Can I love again while still remembering my dead partner? Is it too soon? Will others be judgmental? How do you meet someone in this modern age? Will this person be receptive to my grief? Will I be widowed again? Creative strategies to help those who choose to seek love again after loss are demonstrated.
Presented by: Claudia Coenen, CGC, FT, MTP
My PTSD Helped Me Learn and Grow
In 2011, Randy Fritz and his family lost their home in an epic wildfire bred from an historic drought. To help others whose lives have been upended by a disaster or some other type of grievous loss, he wrote a book that was a finalist for a prestigious literary prize in Texas. In his ADEC keynote address, Mr. Fritz reads from his book, talks about how the fire changed his life, and explains how his mental illness helped him become a more empathetic, patient, and caring person. He frames his experiences within the context of mental illness and its treatment and de-stigmatization.
Presented by: Randy Fritz
Non-Death Loss During Adolescence
There is an endless list of possible non-death losses that occur in the lives of adolescents, some of which include parental divorce, parental incarceration, relocation, friendship loss, romantic break-up, survival of natural disasters, and exposure to media portrayal of mass shootings and other traumatic events. Some non-death losses occur secondary to a death loss. The experiences of non-death loss during adolescence, which may include grief and trauma, can have a lasting developmental impression that carries into adulthood dependent on attachment style, support system, and other mediating factors.
Presented by: Pamela Malone, PhD, LCSW-S, FT
Pathfinders - A Whole Family Approach to Bereavement Care
Pathfinders is a 10-session program developed and evaluated in a community-based grief center. The grief-focused and trauma-informed family systems intervention was creatively designed to meet the diverse needs of bereaved children and families, prevent future complications, and promote positive adaptation. The program is based in theory, research, and practice-based evidence. Parallel strengths-based curricula for children, adolescents, and adult caregivers can be used in groups of same-age peers or during individual and family sessions. This presentation reviews the structure, process, and content of Pathfinders, including developmentally tailored interventions for varied ages and types of deaths.
Presented by: Michaeleen Burns, PhD; Brook Griese, PhD
Role of Intensity of Event, Distress Disclosure and Resilience in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Flood Victims in Anambra State
The study investigated the role of intensity of event, distress disclosure, and resilience on PTSD among flood victims in Anambra state. 721 adults from three communities in Ogbaru L. G. A. of Anambra state participated in the study. Instruments used were Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ), Distress Disclosure Inventory (DDI), and Resilience Scale (RS-14). Resilience was negatively related to PTSD. Physical intensity of event was positively related to PTSD. Emotional intensity of event was positively related to PTSD. Resilience and Physical intensity of event significantly predicted PTSD. Emotional intensity of event and distress disclosure were not significant predictors of PTSD.
Presented by: Genevieve Ebulum, BEd, Msc; Genevieve Ebulum, Bed, MSc
Spiritual Change Among Homicide Survivors of Color
While we know that homicide loss can have a profound impact on individuals, research specific to spiritual change among homicide survivors of color is limited.
Resources
ADEC's foundational book for thanatology, The Handbook of Thanatology, Third Edition: The Essential Body of Knowledge for the Study of Death, Dying, and Bereavement, is available through Itasca Books and Amazon.
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