*Breakfast provided

Sudden deaths pose their own challenges to the bereavement experience. Sudden deaths like car crash fatalities create a “freeze frame” of the relationship, especially difficult when survivors sense unfinished business.  Though not always completely unexpected, homicides, suicides, and substance overdoses are often accompanied by the shock of a traumatic loss even when families have lived in the dread of waiting for “the other shoe to drop.” Whatever the circumstances, however, caregivers are called on to help survivors make sense of these losses that are often filled with traumatic experiences, imagined scenarios of violence, and interpersonal guilt at what could have been different.

At the conclusion of this workshop, participants will be able to…

• Describe the three components of complex grief responses and explain how they interact
• Assess for healthy coping and unhealthy behaviors
• Deliver appropriate treatment and support responses in cases of sudden death