New Dates for the Conference - March 19 & 20
*If you were previously registered for the conference, your registration has not changed.
Making Meaning in the Era of Loss
Grieving Death and Our Way of Life During the Pandemic
People try to live lives that make sense and matter to them. The death of a loved one or dramatic changes to support networks, financial resources, and daily routines, such as those caused by the pandemic, can make clients question who they are, the nature of their world, their expectations for the future, and what their lives are about. Such sweeping violations of core beliefs leave clients disoriented in an unfamiliar world, struggling to find ways of living meaningfully.
This professional conference will focus on the meaning making model of therapy, identifying its evidence-base in research as well as its theoretical roots in narrative, cognitive, constructivist, and existential theories of psychotherapy. The conference will describe specific challenges faced by clients as they attempt to make meaning; it will also provide examples of what it can sound like when clients succeed in making meaning. Specific therapy techniques and interventions will be offered as guides for supporting clients in making meaning of death and non-death loss, with a particular focus on the pandemic. The conference will highlight how the mental health burden of the pandemic lies in the ongoing, existential, and anticipatory grief it causes. Attendees will have the opportunity to practice therapy techniques and interventions in small groups. Finally, the conference will conclude with a panel discussion of clinical experts focusing on the integration of the expressive arts and motivational interviewing into the meaning making model.
2021 VIRTUAL PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCE PRESENTS
DR. EVGENIA (JANE) MILMAN
Making Meaning in the Era of Loss:
Grieving Death and Our Way of Life During the Pandemic
Friday, March 19 & Saturday, March 20
10:00 am – 1:00 pm
6 CEU hours for LMFT, LPC, LMSW, and LCSW
Learning Objectives:
- Describe how grief of death and non-death loss during the pandemic can become a struggle to find ways of living meaningfully
- Discuss challenges faced by clients as they attempt to make meaning
- Provide examples of what it can sound like when clients make meaning
- Identify exercises mental health professionals can use to support meaning making with their clients
- Explain how the expressive arts and motivational interviewing can be integrated into the meaning making model of therapy
About the Speaker:
Dr. Evgenia (Jane) Milman specializes in supporting adults and couples as they find ways of living meaningfully through challenging life experiences, particularly grief, trauma, and other major transitions. Dr. Milman teaches at St. Edward’s University, where she conducts research examining how making meaning influences mental health. Most recently, she published research and book chapters highlighting the role of meaning making during the pandemic. Dr. Milman is developing the Handbook of Grief Therapies for Sage Publications. She has published grief research and grief therapy techniques, authoring chapters for the Hospice Foundation of America, Routledge’s series Techniques of Grief Therapy, and many others. Dr. Milman is faculty at the Portland Institute for Loss and Transition and adjunct assistant professor at the Medical University of South Carolina. She develops online grief support resources for the Canadian Virtual Hospice, serves on the advisory board for TAPS, and chairs the Distance and Online Education committee for ADEC. In Texas, Dr. Milman practices psychology as a Provisionally Licensed Psychologist trainee under the supervision of Dr. David Zuniga. To learn more about Dr. Milman's work on meaning making, grief, and COVID you can visit her website, www.drjanemilman.com.
Special Guest Speaker:
Robert A. Neimeyer, PhD, is Professor Emeritus of the Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, maintains an active consulting and coaching practice, and also directs the Portland Institute for Loss and Transition. Neimeyer has published 30 books, including Routledge’s series on Techniques of Grief Therapy, and serves as Editor of Death Studies. The author of over 500 articles and chapters and a popular workshop presenter, he is currently working to advance a more adequate theory of grieving as a meaning-making process. In recognition of his contributions, he has been given Lifetime Achievement Awards by both the Association for Death Education and Counseling and the International Network on Personal Meaning.
About the Panelists:
Beverly Voss, LCSW, is a psychotherapist who uses sensory awareness and play to create spaces in our lives that evoke joy, comfort, and serenity.
Scott Van Camp, LMFT, is a psychotherapist and Clinical Director of The Austin Center for Grief & Loss. is certified in Arts and Healing from UCLA. Scott has served in the field of human services for over 25 years, ranging from private practice to community-based organizations focusing on grief and loss.
Rachel Saffer, LCSW, is the Director of Children's Programming for The Austin Center for Grief & Loss. Rachel specializes in providing counseling to teenagers and children who have experienced significant trauma.
