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Grief Out Loud

Remember the last time you tried to talk about grief and suddenly everyone left the room? Grief Out Loud is opening up this often avoided conversation because grief is hard enough without having to go through it alone. We bring you a mix of personal stories, tips for supporting children, teens, and yourself, and interviews with bereavement professionals. Platitude and cliché-free, we promise! Grief Out Loud is hosted by Jana DeCristofaro and produced by Dougy Center: The National Grief Center Children & Families in Portland, Oregon. www.dougy.org
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Now displaying: February, 2024

Remember the last time you tried to talk about grief and suddenly everyone left the room? Grief Out Loud is opening up this often avoided conversation because grief is hard enough without having to go through it alone. We bring you a mix of personal stories, tips for supporting children, teens, and yourself, and interviews with bereavement professionals. Platitude and cliché-free, we promise! Grief Out Loud is hosted by Jana DeCristofaro and produced by The Dougy Center for Grieving Children & Families in Portland, Oregon.

Feb 22, 2024

In an instant, Leslie went from sharing every aspect of life with her husband Ryan to feeling like half a person. Leslie, Ryan, their two young children, and their extended family were on vacation in California when Ryan told Leslie that something didn't feel right. He was rushed to the hospital where he died of a stroke and an aneurysym, leaving Leslie to figure out how to live their life without him. The people Leslie most wanted to talk to in her grief were other widows. This inspired her to start Vids for Wids - a project to capture the stories of widows in the hopes of helping others feel less alone. 

We discuss:

  • How Leslie and Ryan met as co-workers 

  • The day Ryan died while they were on vacation 

  • Suddenly feeling like half a person without Ryan 

  • Telling her very young children about his death 

  • The early days and weeks of widowhood 

  • How her kids’ grief is changing over time 

  • The power of talking to other widows 

  • What Leslie learned about grief from Ryan 

  • Dating and becoming a remarried widow 

  • Leslie’s Vids for Wids project to support other widows 

Feb 10, 2024

What happens when you put your grief on hold? In the summer of 2016, Channing Frye was riding high. After over a decade in the NBA, his team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, had won the Championship. Then, in the fall, he hit one of the lowest lows. His mother Karen died of cancer. Just a month later his father, Thomas, also died. Channing put his grief on hold to deal with the logistics of planning two funerals, supporting his family, and going back to work as a professional athlete. Eventually, with the help of his wife, his friends, and a therapist, Channing started to talk about and explore grief in ways that worked better for him. Doing this allowed him to get more present in his life and explore new passions like podcasting and starting a wine label, Chosen Family Wines

We discuss:

  • Channing’s parents and how they supported him in his basketball career 
  • What it was like when his parents died
  • Being with his mom as she was dying 
  • Putting his grief on hold to take care of business
  • How his grief intensified after his dad’s death 
  • Going back to the NBA soon after his parents’ deaths 
  • The role alcohol played in his early grief 
  • How he got into therapy and started working with his grief 
  • Reclaiming significant days like birthdays, Father’s Day, and other holidays 
  • How he stays grounded & connected to his parents  
  • The connection between grief and the name of his wine label, Chosen Family  

Follow Channing on IG

Listen to his podcast, Road Trippin'

Feb 2, 2024

Dr. Donna Schuurman is back - this time talking about the dangers of pathologizing grief. While the term "complicated grief" has been used in various grief settings for years, it wasn't until March of 2022 that Prolonged Grief Disorder made it into the DSM-5-TR - the Diagnostical & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - as an official diagnosis. This conversation explores the concerns Donna and others in the field share about the move to pathologize grief.

We discuss:

  • What Donna’s learned about grief working in the field for over 30 years 

  • How that work experience shapes her personal grief 

  • Why she is so passionate about this topic 

  • The history of how Prolonged Grief Disorder came to be in the DSM 
  • How diagnoses are social constructs - and who often gets left out of the studies behind these constructs

  • The dangers of pathologizing grief as a mental disorder 

  • The (short list) of positives of Prolonged Grief Disorder being available as a diagnosis 

  • Other trends in the field to pathologize or "do away" with grief
  • What Donna is optimistic about in the field of bereavement 

Register for Donna’s upcoming webinar:
Flawed Foundations, Deconstructing Three Contemporary Grief Constructs
Thursday, February 8, 2024.
 

Donna L. Schuurman, EdD, FT, is the Senior Director of Advocacy & Education at Dougy Center. Dr. Schuurman was the Executive Director of Dougy Center from 1991–2015. Dr. Schuurman is an internationally recognized authority on grief and bereaved children, teens, and families, and the author of Never the Same: Coming to Terms with the Death of a Parent (St. Martin’s Press, 2003), among other publications. 

 

 

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