Grief and The Body:
Working holistically with loss and bereavement
SYDNEY : Thur 1 & Fri 2 MAY 2025 (in-person)
This 2 day workshop may be taken as stand-alone CPD or as part of an accreditation pathway*
The majority of grief and loss theories and concepts focus on the cognitive, emotional and social aspects of these experiences. And yet we experience change, loss, grief and bereavement in our whole physical being. Our bodies literally manifest what is happening in us and a more nuanced understanding of this can help inform a counsellor or psychotherapist about effective ways to approach each grieving client.
This workshop will use our physical existence as a lens through which to consider the experience of grief, loss and bereavement. Feelings, moods, emotions, bodily experiences and intuition will be explored from the perspective of offering holistic form(s) of counselling and psychotherapy to people who are grieving or bereaved. Aligning 20+ years of experience in grief and bereavement counselling and psychotherapy with 40 years of Tai Chi practice and studies in massage therapy, mindfulness and focusing, Greg will invite you to:
- Consider and seek to better understand the embodied aspects of grief and how it can manifest in grieving individuals
- Find ways to describe and share how the physical effects of grief inform the many ways in which grief and loss is experienced
- Experience and practice body-informed ways of responding to grief and loss
You will leave this 2-day workshop with:
- Greater awareness of the relationship between grief and our physical being
- A deeper understanding of body-informed responses to loss or bereavement
- Holistic approaches that you may consider incorporating into your practice
Facilitator: Dr Greg Roberts PhD, BSW (Hons), MAASW
Greg Roberts introduces this workshop as part of an existentially-informed series that is designed for practitioners wanting to develop their skills in the field of grief, loss and bereavement. The series is designed for both practitioners who are new to this field of practice and those that are experienced and wanting to add to their professional development in specific areas of grief, loss and bereavement. Other workshops in the Grief, Loss & Bereavement series include:
- Stepping into the Heart of Grief and Loss – Working Beyond Models (introductory workshop) – FEB 2024
- Working with Complex, Prolonged Grief – Addressing Crisis of Meaning and Existential Angst- OCT 2024
- Grief Across The Life Span – Children, Adolescents, Adults and Older Age – 2025 TBA
- Anticipatory and Non-Finite Grief – Supporting Clients through Terminal/Chronic Illness, Injury and Disability – JULY 2024
- Grief and Trauma – 2025 TBA
*Accreditation Pathways
Completing five of the 2-day Grief and Loss workshops in the series – which encompasses face-to-face workshop hours, readings and successful completion of two assessments – fulfills the grief and loss training component required for certification with:
Grief Australia – formerly Australian Centre for Grief & Bereavement (Australian certification)*
See full information on Grief Australia certification here
Association for Death Education and Counselling (International certification)*
See full information on ADEC certification here
*notes: Meeting the training criteria for ADEC entitles you to sit their certification exam. Certification is fee-based for both ACGB and ADEC
Greg Roberts PhD, BSW (Hons), MAASW
Greg is a Doctor of Philosophy, an accredited Counsellor and Social Worker. Since 2001, Greg has focused almost exclusively on working with grief, bereavement and trauma and prior to that worked in acute and community health settings focusing on older adults, men’s health and people living with disabilities. Greg currently works as the Victorian Manager of Support After Suicide and is the Director of his own private practice – Grief & Trauma Support. He works as a group facilitator, educator and clinical supervisor, bringing an existential lens to his approach. Greg is a founding committee member of the Victorian Loss and Grief Practitioner’s Association, founded in 2012 and he is the Trainer for CEP’s Grief, Loss and Bereavement training, the only existentially-informed grief and loss training pathway in Australia.
SYDNEY FACE-TO-FACE
Date: SYDNEY: Thur 1 & Fri 2 MAY 2025 (in-person)
Time: 9.30am to 4.30 pm AEST each day
Location: Juanita Nielson Community Centre, 31 Nicholson Street Woolloomooloo, 2011. See here
Cost: $560 or $480 (Early Bird before 10 April)
CPD Hours: 12
Meals: Morning & afternoon refreshments provided. Plenty of cafés close by for lunch
Access: Metered street parking. Car Parks close by. Walking distance from CBD and St James Station. Plenty of bus routes on nearby William Street
If you are interested in participating, please submit your expression of interest. We will email you once registrations open in early February 2025 and in advance of general promotion of the event
