Traditional theories of childhood grief have largely relied on stage-based developmental frameworks, often linking children’s understanding of death to age-related cognitive capacities.  Such approaches may imply that children grieve in predictable, normative ways, thereby overlooking the child’s individuality, relational context, and lived experience.  This module challenges these assumptions by introducing a Transactional Developmental Model of childhood grief, which conceptualizes children as active agents rather than passive recipients of loss.

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Central to this training is an in-depth case study based on a 45-minute video recording of a clinical play therapy session with a five-year-old child and her father following the death of the child’s mother shortly after childbirth of her younger sister.  The video will be viewed in segments and regularly paused to invite reflection, discussion, and clinical inquiry.  Learners are guided to observe how children express meaning through play, narrative, and relational interaction, and how adult caregivers can be thoughtfully involved in supporting the reconstruction of the death story.  Using the Transactional Developmental Model as a guiding framework, the case study illustrates how children’s grief unfolds dynamically within relationships and contexts.  Issues of diversity are addressed by attending to family systems, relational positioning, cultural assumptions about children and death, and by explicitly centering the child’s own voice and agency throughout the clinical process. 

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Note:  This 3-hour CE module focuses on topics related to psychological practice, education, or research other than application of psychological assessment and/or intervention methods that are supported by contemporary scholarship grounded in established research procedures.

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Describe the core principles of the Transactional Developmental Model of childhood grief and how it differs from stage-based developmental approaches;

• Distinguish between normative, age-based interpretations of children’s grief and a transactional, context-sensitive understanding of children as active agents;

• Identify key indicators of children’s agency, meaning-making, and emotional regulation as expressed through play, narrative, and relational interaction during a video-recorded clinical session; and

• Apply insights gained from guided video observation and group discussion to inform clinical decision-making when supporting children and families following traumatic loss.

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Note:  Attendance of this Live Online Training session confers credit of 1 Case Study Module required for Certification in Grief Therapy as Meaning Reconstruction or Certification in Family-Focused Grief Therapy.

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COURSE PACK PROVIDES

• A PDF copy of the presentation slides; 

• Summary handout of the Transactional Developmental Model; and

• A published article: Russel, C., Chin, M., Bollig, G., Cait, C., Carnevale, F., Chrastek, J., Lavorgna, B., Macpherson, C., Remke, S., Scaut, L., Skeen, J., Szylit, R., van Breemen, C., & Shalev, R. (2024).  Re-imagining childhood grief: Children as active agents in a Transactional Model.  OMEGA-Journal of Death and Dying, 0(0):1-23.

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TARGET AUDIENCE

• Psychologists, social workers, counselors, art / music / expressive arts therapists, pastoral care personnel, healthcare professionals, bereavement volunteers

• To qualify for the 3 CE Credits, please kindly note that:

  • Full attendance of the entire session is required to receive CE credits.  No partial credit is awarded.

  • You are required to complete a CE quiz after the session.  An overall score of 75% or higher within three attempts is required to obtain CE credits.  The certificate of CE credits will then be issued to you.

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INSTRUCTIONAL LEVEL

• Intermediate

 

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

This program contains the following segments:

• Introduction:  Rethinking Childhood Grief (30 min.)
• The Transactional Developmental Model of Childhood Grief:  Theoretical Foundations (45 min.)

• From Theory to Practice:  Guided Analysis of a Clinical Play Therapy Session  (75 min.)

• Integration and Clinical Implications:  Translating Insights across Clinical, Educational and Caregiving Contexts (20 min.)

• Wrapping It Up:  Conclusion and Q&A (10 min.)

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WEBINAR TIMING

• 9am-12pm, PST, Portland, OR, that corresponds to 12-3pm in Eastern Time, 5-8pm in Greenwich Mean Time and 6-9pm in Central European Time.

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Note:  The Zoom link and learning materials will be emailed to the registrants in due course.

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Disclosure Statement

This module is not supported financially by a manufacturer of any commercial product and there is no sale of any product or publication during the live training session.  There is no known conflict of interest for this CE module or the presenting faculty.