Loading Events

Join us on December 19, 2024, at 2:00 PM EST for A Blue Christmas: Grief and Loss During Holidays and Special Occasions, with Janet McCord, PhD, FT, Professor and Director of the Master of Science in Thanatology Program at Edgewood College

Holidays can be joyful celebrations that bring family and friends together, but for many, they are also a time when grief and holiday celebrations collide. This webinar will explore the major aspects of grief as a natural emotional response to loss, with a focus on how individuals and families experience special occasions differently. We’ll discuss the active process of mourning, examine various models of coping with grief, and provide actionable strategies funeral professionals can use to support grieving families during holidays. Discover how you can help families create new meaning and navigate emotional challenges during these significant moments. 

Learning objectives: 

  1. Identify the major aspects of grief as a common emotional response to loss and mourning as an active process.  
  2. Identify how different holidays/special occasions are embraced by different people in different ways. 
  3. Describe different models of how people actively cope with grief. 
  4. List strategies for helping families and communities during special occasions. 

Janet McCord, PhD, FT, Professor of Thanatology and Thanatology Program Director at Edgewood College, has been a thanatologist and suicidologist for over 30 years. She is a death educator who teaches a broad array of topics in thanatology and suicidology and has educated hundreds of master’s level students around the globe in graduate thanatology programs. She has been a member of the International Work Group on Death, Dying and Bereavement (IWG) since 2016 and embraces the IWG’s vision as her own: a world where dying, death, and bereavement are an open part of all cultures.