This interactive workshop is custom designed to be a safe space for people you serve and support and/or your staff to process loss and to explore beliefs about grief. Caring and experienced facilitators, Dr. Karyn Harvey and Tanya Richmond, MSW, LCSW offer comfort and support and will guide participants in completing a set of actions, including a legacy project, that will enable them to move forward with hope. Once equipped with these tools, participants will be able to work through other losses from the past and will be able to apply what they learn to future grief and loss.

The grief that comes with any loss can be overwhelming and isolating. Often people find that those they normally count on for emotional support are at a total loss when it comes to offering effective and meaningful assistance. Grief is emotional and not always logical!

Dr. Harvey and Ms. Richmond lead small groups (typically 6 people) through activities including guided imagery, letter writing, honoring those who have passed, and the creation of a legacy project* (keepsake/memory object). The workshop is a 3-hour event and can be geared towards staff of an agency or people served by the agency. *Legacy project kits are included in the cost of the workshop.

Workshop cost: $2,000 for staff of an agency (6 participants) or $1500 for people served by an agency (6 participants).

MEET THE FACILITATORS

Dr. Karyn Harvey has worked as a clinician in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities (ID/DD) for over 30 years. She has a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and a Ph.D. in Applied Developmental Psychology from the University of Maryland. Over her years of academic and professional development including valuable experience in direct support of individuals with ID/DD, she has come to recognize that psychologically supporting people with ID/DD must recognize the role that trauma plays in their behavioral issues and address the critical elements needed for their recovery from trauma (including safety, empowerment and connection). ​

Tanya M. Richmond, MSW, LCSW, has over 30 years of experience working as a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). Tanya is also a Certified Death Doula and works with people and families to plan for having positive control at the end of life and after a loved one has passed to process grief and cope with loss. She has expertise in direct practice with older adults; adults with mental health and behavioral health concerns; children and their families; people who are deaf or hearing impaired; children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities; and with individuals who are in crisis due to rape

Every person will experience grief and loss at some time – a profound sense of final separation from something or someone important. Grief is a normal and appropriate reaction to the death of a loved one, the experience of separation/divorce, intergenerational loss, the loss of opportunity, or even the loss of "normal". While there are similarities in how people work through loss, grief is a complicated and unique experience that requires helpers to be sensitive to the needs and experiences of those they are supporting. This workshop is designed to give participants an increased awareness of the dynamics of grief, and to provide tools and strategies to best process loss and support someone who is grieving. Cultural and popular understandings of grief and loss, and the influences these have on how we experience and work with grief will be explored.

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