If you've been subscribing to this newsletter for a while, you'll know that we address a variety of topics related to death, loss and grief, with a particular focus on how religious beliefs and cultural norms influence how we experience these things.

This month we'll be talking a lot about grief, and offering a variety of helpful resources, including two powerful in-depth workshops... one on each coast!

The first is in Portland, OR. on September 23, and it's FREE! The second is in upstate New York at The Omega Institute, Oct 13-16 (CE credits available). You'll find details on both events below.

BTW, the photo above shows my dog Spootie being a therapy dog at a grief workshop several years ago.

Dr. Terri Daniel, CT, FFGT

Clinical Chaplaincy, End-of-Life Educator

Bereavement and Trauma Support

office@deathgriefandbelief.com

NEWS, ARTICLES AND EDUCATION

What is Anticipatory Grief?

"For both caregivers and care recipients, the losses—of relationships, control, companionship and intimacy, identity, freedom, and love—can be staggering. “Grief can begin at the time of diagnosis,” says Barbara Karnes, RN, a hospice nurse in Vancouver, WA, and author of The Final Act of Living. “And it's typically much more intense for caregivers than non-caregivers because of the close bond they form with the people they are caring for.” READ MORE...

What is Prolonged Grief Disorder?

"Grief is a natural response to the loss of a loved one. For most people, the symptoms of grief begin to decrease over time. However, for a small group of people, the feeling of intense grief persists, and the symptoms are severe enough to cause problems and stop them from continuing with their lives. Prolonged grief disorder is characterized by this intense and persistent grief that causes problems and interferes with daily life." READ MORE...

The Failures of Modern Medicine

Dr. Drew Remignanti is an emergency medicine physician who has lived with chronic illness since being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at the age of 19. He suffered a major stroke at the age of 38 that sidetracked his career for five years but inspired him to write the book The Healing Connection: A Partnership for Your Health, which explores how dollar-driven motives wield too much influence over our medical decisions, including at the end of life. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

A Religious Obligation

to Discriminate?

"The U.S. Department of Education accepted Baylor University’s request for exemption from Title IX’s sexual harassment provision after the private Baptist school asked to dismiss discrimination complaints filed by LGBTQ+ students that the university said were 'inconsistent' with the institution’s religious values."

Religious Decline is

Good for Democracy

“Last week, Gallup released new data showing that standard Christian beliefs are at all-time lows. In 2001, 90% of Americans believed in God; that figure is now down to 74%. Belief in heaven has gone from 83% down to 67%; belief in hell from 71% down to 59%; belief in angels from 79% down to 69%; belief in the devil from 68% down to 58%.” READ MORE...

A New Way to Exploit Grievers?

A new AI company called You, Only Virtual is creating chatbots modeled after deceased loved ones, with its founder, Justin Harrison, telling “Good Morning America” that he hopes people won’t have to feel grief at all (related article here).

You, Only Virtual scans text messages, emails and phone calls shared between an individual and the deceased person to create a chatbot that composes original written or audio responses mimicking the deceased person’s voice and modeling the relationship and rapport that the two shared in life. READ MORE...

A New Way to Help Grievers

"A community sample rated the severity of their grief symptoms (as they recalled) before and after a psychedelic experience. Participants also rated the occurrence of emotional breakthrough experiences and challenging experiences during the psychedelic experience. We hypothesized that a psychedelic experience after bereavement would be associated with a reduction in the severity of grief symptoms. We also predicted that emotional breakthrough experiences would be linked to greater improvement in grief symptoms while challenging experiences would be linked to less improvement in grief symptoms. All hypotheses were supported."

Recordings from

the 2023

Conference on

Death, Grief and Belief

are now available!

CLICK HERE

TO PURCHASE

CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS

FREE!

In-Depth Grief Workshop

Portland, OR. Sept. 23

In conjunction with AccentCare Hospice in Portland, Oregon, the public is invited to a FREE day-long workshop facilitated by Dr. Terri Daniel.

These workshops are offered quarterly, free of charge to the community to help individuals and families manage the difficult journey of loss and bereavement. These workshops teach unique coping skills and healing tools not typically found in traditional counseling or support group settings, including group work, art therapy processes, family dynamic mapping, sacred ceremony and more. The September workshop is Saturday Sept. 23, from 10 am – 5 pm.

Terri Daniel, Heather Stang and Suzane Northrop

at The Omega Institute Oct. 13 - 15

If you are mourning the death of a loved one or a loss of any kind, including divorce, job loss, pet loss, health loss, or any major life transition, this workshop provides a rare emotional learning experience via interactive processes and sacred rituals for navigating the grief journey.

Join us in beautiful Rhinebeck, NY for a weekend of natural beauty, supportive community and deep healing as you shift the focus of your grief from external events to internal transformation. Find comfort and wisdom through an array of healing practices and multicultural traditions including yoga, guided visualization, art therapy, music therapy, and sacred ceremony.

Special presentation on Saturday evening...

audience readings with medium Suzane Northrop

CE CREDITS AVAILABLE FOR NURSES, SOCIAL WORKERS,

COUNSELORS AND MORE!

Click HERE for CE details

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS AND REGISTRATION