Hiding in Plain Sight: Addressing The Perinatal Grief of Non-Parental Relatives

OVERVIEW

This presentation will highlight how to mobilize this new knowledge in direct individual and group practice, in social action and advocacy efforts, in community and layperson support, and in research and theory development. Findings have been distilled into practical guidelines to inform clinicians as they assess needs and provide specific, tailored support to these oft-ignored grievers. Significant research gaps remain, such as firsthand perspectives of non-parental grievers, data on other extended family members, and the effect of additional psychosocial stressors. As ongoing legal restrictions curtail reproductive healthcare access, the need for support, research, and discussion of these needs is especially salient. The future of reproductive grief care must address the needs of whole families as they navigate grief together: by noticing and supporting non-parental experiences, clinicians, laypeople, grief theorists, policymakers, and researchers can collectively imagine and promote inclusivity in perinatal grief.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Participants will be able to explain the unique factors engendering disenfranchisement for non-parental relatives (grandparents and siblings) grieving perinatal loss, leading them to become hidden within family and care systems, and identify how this can be harmful

2. Participants will be able to describe common themes, as identified in this research, impacting the bereavement experiences of non-parental relatives (grandparents and siblings) in perinatal loss, while recognizing the unique nature of each individual and familial grief experience

3. Participants will be able to describe and apply practical strategies to combat the disenfranchisement of non-parental grievers in direct clinical practice, research, policy work, advocacy, and awareness-raising; participants will be able to create community in grief and offer support to wider family systems in both layperson and professional efforts

ABOUT THE PRESENTER

Rennie Bimman, BSW, MSW, LICSW, RSW(i) 

Rennie Bimman is a social worker determined to act as an agent for social change, using clinical and research skills congruently to address grief that is pushed to the margins. In her clinical work, she has had the privilege of supporting individuals and families in their most vulnerable moments across the life course, including older adults with dementia and their caregivers, families experiencing the serious illness and death of a child, parents and grandparents enduring perinatal loss, adults and their families navigating terminal illnesses, and pregnant and parenting young mothers grieving losses through abortion or child placement. Her research experience includes investigating the disenfranchised grief of caregivers and clinicians supporting patients with advanced liver disease, exploring the inclusion of persons with dementia in decision-making, investigating the perinatal grief of extended family members, and designing evidence-informed bereaved caregiver support interventions. She is presently pursuing her doctorate in Social Work at McGill University, investigating the needs of intergenerational family systems navigating pregnancy and infant loss. Through clinical practice, research, education, and community-building, she is committed to disrupting the death-denying culture that disenfranchises grief. 

Target Audience: health and mental health professionals, graduate-level students, and those who work closely with bereaved people, like hospice administrators, clergy, and support group facilitators.

FEES

The webinar is free to attend. Registration is required using the free general admission link.
A $30 fee is required for the available continuing education add-on and certificate of completion.

Continuing Education

American Psychological Association

The Center for Prolonged Grief at Columbia School of Social Work is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Center for Prolonged Grief maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Note: Many state boards recognize the APA approval. Please check with your state licensing board.

New York State Education Department

• NYSED Board for Social Work recognizes the Center for Prolonged Grief as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers (#SW‐0727).
• NYSED State Board for Mental Health Practitioners recognizes the Center for Prolonged Grief as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists (#MFT-0080) and licensed mental health counselors (#MHC-0104).
• NYSED State Board for Psychology recognizes the Center for Prolonged Grief as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed psychologists (#PSY-0150).

Note: Non-NYS social workers, marriage and family therapists, and mental health counselors should check with their state licensing board. Many states have recognized our continuing education programs, as we are at a CSWE-accredited institution and part of a regionally accredited university.

Refund Policy
There are no refunds for this event.

Special Accommodations and Grievance Policy
Columbia University makes every effort to accommodate individuals with disabilities. If you require disability accommodations to attend an event at Columbia University, please contact Disability Services at 212-854-2388 or disability@columbia.edu and the Center for Prolonged Grief at training@complicatedgrief.columbia.edu at least 10 days in advance of the event.

If you have a question or concern about a workshop, non-receipt of a certificate, or another issue related to the Center for Prolonged Grief’s continuing education programming, please email training@complicatedgrief.columbia.edu