Understanding Disenfranchised Grief

As clinicians, we can benefit from understanding both the various manifestations of grief when someone significant dies and the factors that influence its expression. One of these factors is when society fails to acknowledge certain types of grief; the grief that is disenfranchised.

Grief that goes unnoticed can leave people feeling confused, misunderstood, and unsupported. This training will provide an overview of the grief process and the impact it has on grievers’ lives. It will also consider how grief can be disenfranchised in the context of social norms. We will discuss what it means for grief to be disenfranchised and how this disenfranchisement impacts grievers. Taking a closer look at this topic will help inform goals and interventions that are helpful in grief counseling.

4 CEs are available for NYS LMHCs, LMSWs, LCSWs, LMFTs, LCATs, NYS Licensed Psychologists and NYS Licensed Psychoanalysts upon completion of training.

Objectives:

-Participants will be able to discuss several different manifestations of grief.

-Participants will be able to define disenfranchised grief and develop an understanding of the three ways in which grief can be disenfranchised.

-Participants will be provided with an introductory education on how to counsel people who are experiencing disenfranchised grief.

In accordance with the NY State Department of Education guidelines, in order to receive continuing education contact hours, a participant needs to be present for the duration of the workshop/training. Therefore, participants who arrive late or leave the event early will not be granted a certificate of completion.

​Cancellation Policy: Refunds will be provided for cancellations made in writing up to the day before the event.

Accommodations and Accessibility: HVPD welcomes participants with diverse abilities. Please contact us at info@hudsonvalleyprofessionaldevelopment.com to request accessibility accommodations. Accommodation requests are considered in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Maria Georgopoulos, LMHC, FT, is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and Fellow in Thanatology, whose work focuses on grief, loss, and trauma. She obtained her Master’s degree in Mental Health Counseling from New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Development and received additional clinical training through The Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy’s Psychoanalytic Training Program and The Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute.

Formerly the Director of Bereavement Services at Calvary Hospital, she was responsible for overseeing 33 bereavement support groups across three sites in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Manhattan that serve hundreds of adults, children, and teenagers each year; led a team of 8 bereavement counselors and spearheaded Calvary’s efforts to expand their professional learning programs in the New York area. She also worked with grieving families at The American Red Cross of Greater New York after 9/11.

Ms. Georgopoulos values raising awareness about death and dying in our communities. To support this endeavor, she has taught as an adjunct professor, contributed chapters in various publications for the Hospice Foundation of America and participates in different committees with the Association for Death Education and Counseling and the National Alliance for Children's Grief. She has worked with countless individuals experiencing trauma and loss over the length of her career, and maintains a private practice in New York.