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FREE: 3 IDFPR CEU for LSW/LCSW, LPC/LCPC, Psychologists, and IAODAPCA (pending)
SUMMARY
This presentation examines traumatic grief as a profound and often disabling response to sudden or violent loss that disrupts the natural grieving process and overwhelms identity, meaning-making, and emotional regulation. It differentiates traumatic grief from normative grief and PTSD, emphasizing how trauma fragments memory, arrests emotional processing, and freezes aspects of identity. The presentation explores how cultural, spiritual, and contextual factors shape grief experiences, as well as the acute aftermath of loss, which may include shock, intense sadness, anxiety, and somatic symptoms. Healing is framed as a compassionate, trauma-informed process that supports narrative reconstruction, mindfulness, self-compassion, and creative expression. The presentation underscores the importance of self-care, professional boundaries, and supportive networks for both clinicians and those they serve.
OBJECTIVES
Participants will be able to:
- Define and Understand Traumatic Grief
- Describe Traumatic vs. Episodic Memory
- Explain Why Traumatic Loss is an Identity Crisis
- Describe the Importance of Cultural, Spiritual & Contextual Factors
- Characterize the Immediate Aftermath of a Traumatic Loss
- Delineate likely long-term effects
- Understand Multifaceted and Compassionate Approaches to Healing
- Identify Useful Therapeutic Modalities
- Apply Self-Care Practices for Yourself & Clients
- Evaluate Ceremonial Healing practices
PRESENTER
Gary Rukin, LPC has worked in Community Mental Health for the past thirteen years. He serves as the Trauma-Informed Coordinator for the McHenry County Mental Health Board, and has presented trainings on Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Understanding Psychosis, Understanding and Treating Emotional Trauma, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Thresholds, The Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Recovery Conference, Northwestern University Hospital, and the Illinois Department of Human Services.
