On November 10, 2023, Kseniya Androsovych, professor of the Department of Psychology and Social and Humanities of ISTU Higher Secondary School, participated in the webinar "Mourning Losses as a Necessity — Recognizing and Accepting Grief, Supporting the Grieving Process" for Ukrainian psychologists.
Main speaker: Austrian psychologist, psychotherapist Barbara Preitler, Hemayat, Vienna Austria.
The moderator is Dominik Eisenmann.
183 participants attended the event. As a result of participation, knowledge about the factors that influence the process of grieving has been deepened. I learned the strategies of the psychologist's work with clients with different life situations of loss (sudden grief, or loss with the use of violence, or avoidance (delayed experience) of grief). She noted the importance of social contacts when providing psychological assistance to adults. Working with children and adolescents requires different approaches. For example, with small children, they can ask questions, so the behavior of loved ones, aimed at hiding the truth in order to protect, will be wrong, it is better not to do so. On the contrary, it is necessary to honestly discuss the situation that happened (a relative died). Sometimes children may want to put a certain thing in the coffin for the deceased, and this farewell ritual helps to ease the grief. Teenagers often react to a situation of loss with rage. Rituals of farewell as a resource for living grief (letter to the deceased, burial rituals.). There are completely inappropriate phrases that should not be said (everything will be fine, time heals), and vice versa what can be said to support (I lack words, I don't know what to say, maybe you want to tell me, or just be by my side, listen to memories). To encourage people in grief to share pleasant memories, even if they make you feel sad and want to cry. Tears also help. It is important not to leave a person alone with grief.
The author has developed booklets for the work of a practical psychologist on trauma related to grief (in different languages):
