BEREAVEMENT
Coping with life alone.
42nd Bereavement Care Conference
A conference for bereavement visitors, counsellors, clergy, family support workers, healthcare professionals, community leaders, teachers and learning support assistants.
Wednesday 25th October 2023
10.00am – 3.30pm
Emmanuel Church, High Street, Northwood, Middx HA6 1AS
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Outline Programme
9.30 am Arrivals and Registration (Tea & Coffee available)
10.00 am Welcome and Introduction
10.10 am Keynote Speaker: Rabbi Dr Jonathan Romain MBE
11.10 am Tea/Coffee Break
11.40 am Workshops (1)
12.50 pm Lunch
1.50 pm Workshops (2)
3.00 pm Top Tips from the Workshops
3.15 pm Reflection and Close
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Workshops
Delegates will be able to attend TWO Workshops*
* Subject to availability (allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis)
A) WAY Widowed and Young – Colette Scarborough-Jelfs is Head of Operations and Partnerships at WAY Widowed and Young. After joining the charity as a member, following the death of her husband when she was 33, Colette knows first-hand, the struggles of being widowed young and the difficulties and pitfalls of piecing together your new life following Bereavement. The Charity Widowed and Young, is the only UK charity that offers a peer-to-peer support network for anyone who has lost a partner before their 51st birthday – married or not, with or without children, inclusive of sexual orientations, gender, race and religion, empowering over 4,800 members across the UK to find their new normal.
B) Refugees and Bereavement – Fahima Zaheen is the Executive Director of the Afghan Association Paiwand in North West London, which supports refugees and asylum seekers. She has been involved in charity and community work since 2006, advocating for refugees and asylum seekers in different capacities. In addition to her freelance work, she has had posts at the Embassy of the Republic of Afghanistan in London, the Danish Refugee Council and the Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation (IKWRO). For the last 20 years, Afghan Association Paiwand has helped refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants build a happy life in the UK. Showing solidarity with both children and adults, they truly understand the unique and complex set of needs of this community.
C) Supporting those Bereaved by Suicide – Emmie McGregor has been a Bereavement Visitor with Bereavement Care (and previously Harrow Bereavement Care) for fifteen years and is a member of the St. John’s, Pinner Bereavement Group. She is also one of Bereavement Care’s Client Assessors. Whilst living in Scotland she trained as a Cruse volunteer, then Supervisor, also holding posts on the management committee. Emmie has had training in humanistic, psychodynamic and person-centred counselling and has formerly been in full-time employment with MIND (the Mental Health Charity).
D) Supporting those who have lost a child – Bette Fraser trained as a psychodynamic counsellor and worked as a Student Counsellor and lecturer in Counselling courses at a local University. Having further training in CBT and group work, Bette spent fifteen years in the NHS working with women and couples with gynaecological and obstetric issues including pregnancy loss, infertility, birth trauma and peri-natal mental health issues. She is the leader of the Bereavement Support group at Kol Chai, Hatch End Reform Jewish Community and is a trainer and an assessor for Bereavement Care.
E) Possibilities and Challenges with Older People – Eleanor Anderson is a semi-retired Systemic and Family Psychotherapist. She has worked in the field of bereavement for many years. In 1997, as a Social Worker, she helped set up the Southwest Herts Bereavement Network. She supervised bereavement volunteers for many years and worked with bereaved families at The Peace Hospice. Latterly, she worked for eleven years as a Family Therapist in Old Age Psychiatry at St. Charles Hospital in London. She continues to supervise and teach; she also facilitates a Mental Health Support group. As an ‘older adult’ herself, she is living with bereavement from the death of friends.
F) Supporting Bereaved Children and Young People – Grief Encounter was founded in 2004 offering bereaved children and young people a safe space to grieve and talk about their feelings following the death of someone close. The charity works closely with individuals, families, schools and professionals to offer a way through the anxiety, fear and isolation so often caused by grief. Their services include: one-to-one counselling; group workshops; music, art and drama therapy; residentials and family fun days; a free and confidential helpline called grieftalk; a dedicated trauma team for support following a sudden or traumatic bereavement; accredited training courses and award-winning resources. Workshop Leader to be confirmed.
More details HERE
Download an Application Form