Working with Adolescent Grief - A workshop with Danai Papadatou

The Irish Childhood Bereavement Network invites you to: 'Working with adolescent grief' a workshop with Professor Danai Papadatou. This event is part of the network's Dublin Regional Meeting and will explore techniques, tools and skills to support practitioners working with adolescents who are grieving. It will be held on May 30th, 2014 in the Alexander Hotel, Dublin 2. To register for this event please visit our website www.childhoodbereavement.ie Danai Papadatou is a Professor of Clinical Psychology at the Faculty of Nursing of the University of Athens. Her didactic and clinical experience, as well as her research interests and publications focus mostly on issues related to palliative care, bereavement, and disaster work. She is also the founder of “Merimna”, a non profit organization which provides bereavement support to children and their families as well as pediatric palliative home care services  in Greece. She has received awards for her contribution in the field, and is an active member of the International Work Group on Death, Dying, and Bereavement, an organization of leaders in thanatology.

New website published!!

We are delighted to announce that the website of the Irish Childhood Bereavement Network is now up and running. Please visit us on www.childhoodbereavement.ie. The website will be a great asset to professionals working in the area with a host of useful resources and also information for parents and the wider community on  how to support bereaved children. Please visit us!

New website coming soon...

The ICBN are currently embarking on the exciting journey of developing a modern, comprehensive and informative website. It will support professionals in the sector and provide information to the general public regarding bereaved children and young people. We hope it will be live by the Autumn and will post the new address here after it's launched. In the mean time, if you need to contact the network please email or telephone the Coordinator, Nicola Jordan on nicola.jordan@hospicefoundation.ie/01 679 3188

2nd meeting of Advisory Panel

ICBN Advisory Panel back row L to R: Orla Keegan, Irish Hospice Foundation; Sharon Vard, Anam Cara; Ann Darcy, Our Lady's Hospice; Pat McCarthy, Cois Ceim; Celine Deane, Beaumount Hospital; Dr. Susan Delaney, Irish Hospice Foundation; AnnMarie Jones, Temple Street Hospital; Anne Staunton, Rainbows; Kay Conroy, AACI; Front row L to R: Marian Finn, FSA; Brid Carroll, Bereavement Specialist; Nuala Harmey, Bereavement Specialist; Nicola Jordan, Coordinator ICBN. 

The ICBN Advisory Panel, pictured above, held their second meeting on May 21st. The panel met to discuss development issues arising to progress the network. As a priority for the next six months it was agreed to focus on 2 of the 6 core strategic objectives. These 2 objectives include:
1. Signposting professionals and the public to sources of bereavement support.
2. Supporting professionals to find and share the knowledge and resources they need to deliver high quality     effective, safe, evidence based, accessible bereavement support.

To this end, the main focus of the ICBN will be to develop a website that is accessible,  up-to-date and informative, to promote the network as required and to organise 4 regional networking events.

If you would like any further information on the ICBN please contact the Coordinator, Nicola Jordan on 01 673 0067/ 01 679 3188 nicola.jordan@hospicefoundation.ie and follow this blog for updates.

IRISH CHILDHOOD BEREAVEMENT NETWORK DEVELOPMENTS

The first meeting of the advisory panel for the Irish Childhood Bereavement Network has been held.

 We are pleased to announce that the Chair of the ICBN is Brid Carroll. Brid is a bereavement therapist from Wexford who has worked with bereaved children for many years. During her MSc Bereavement Studies research she conducted research on childhood bereavement services. It was this study which sparked the development of ICBN.
 
The Vice Chair is Nuala Harmey. As Senior Social Worker, Nuala was responsible for the development of services for bereaved children at the Children’s University Hospital, Temple Street, Dublin. She has worked with families affected by organ retention following post-mortem and at national level led policy reviews in that area.  Nuala now supports bereaved families through the Irish Sudden Infant Death Assocation and also at St Brigid’s Hospice, Naas.

The Advisory Panel for the Irish Childhood bereavement Panel is:
 

Gina Cantillon, Barnardos

Brid Carroll, CHAIR

Kay Conroy, Association for Agency Based Counselling in Ireland

Ann Darcy, Our Lady’s Hospice Dublin

Celine Deane, Beaumont Hospital

Susan Delaney, Irish Hospice Foundation

Marian Finn, Family Support Agency

Nuala Harmey, VICE CHAIR

AnnMarie Jones, Temple St Hospital, Dublin

Pat McCarthy, Coisceim Counselling, Cork

Estelle McGinley, Marymount Hospice, Limerick

Anne Staunton, Rainbows

Sharon Vard, Anamcara

 Orla Keegan, representing Host agency, Irish Hospice Foundation

Cultures of grief: bereavement in young people’s worlds’ UK Childhood Bereavement Network Conference

How can we best support grieving children across different cultural backgrounds?
This is the question addressed by the UK Childhood Bereavement Networks one day seminar 'Cultures of grief: bereavement in young people's worlds' which takes place on Thursday May 2nd at the TUC congress Centre, London.
The conference will examine the ways in which culture impacts on children's grief  and assess the implications of culture for professionals and volunteers  supporting bereaved children and young people taking a wide ranging view examining how grief is represented in music, books, films and social media.
The conference would be beneficial to anyone working directly and indirectly supporting bereaved children in particular those working in the following settings; 

• Bereavement support services
• adult and children’s hospices
• palliative care teams
• children’s and early years organisations
• schools, colleges and education services
• Nursing and other health and social care services
• police and other emergency services
• other voluntary and statutory childcare organisations
• faith and community groups supporting bereaved people
• researchers in death and bereavement, childhood studies, cultural studies

More information on CBN is available HERE and additional details and booking for the conference is available HERE 

NEWS - Part-time Co-ordinator required for ICBN

Irish Childhood Bereavement Network 2013-2014

Part-time Co-ordinator

 Position:

0.5 WTE national Irish Childhood Bereavement Network Co-ordinator

 

Location:

Irish Hospice Foundation, Morrison Chambers, 32 Nassau St, Dublin 2

 

Reporting to:

Head of Education, Research and Bereavement Services of host organisation, the Irish Hospice Foundation.

 

The Irish Childhood Bereavement Network (ICBN)

The ICBN is an independent membership organisation with its own mandate. The ICBN works in close consultation with the Family Support Agency and the Irish Hospice Foundation to advance services, education, training and advocacy for bereaved children in Ireland, and those who support them.

 

Key Duties of the ICBN Coordinator

•       Lead and grow the work of the network, working in collaboration with the advisory committee to co-ordinate work and with the UK Childhood Bereavement Network

•       Manage the day to day operation, implementation, management and strategic direction of the network and its projects.

•       Influence policy and practice in the interests of bereaved children through strategic focused relationships with key decision makers and stakeholders and by coordinating responses to relevant policy consultations.

•       Consult with subscribers to the network and other stakeholders to develop consensus on key messages and strategic development.

•       Support subscribers to the network by providing a range of information, resources and networking opportunities.

•       Identify needs, draw up proposals and secure funding.

•       Write for a range of audiences including staff, advisory panel members and subscribers, the public and for publication.

•       Identify cross organisational opportunities to develop work and liaise with colleagues on these.

•       Line manage other network staff (over time)

•       Promote and engage with young people and their families to inform the work of the network.

•       Manage and complete the administrative tasks associated with the network.

 

Essential

• Demonstrable experience in working across diverse stakeholders at national and local level.
• Demonstrable experience of influencing policy and practice which may be used in the interests of bereaved children.
• Ability to identify needs, write funding proposals and secure funding.
• Excellent IT skills
• Experience of managing budgets.
• Knowledge and interest in the area of childhood bereavement.
• A flexible outlook
• Ability to work independently
• Driving license and ability to travel as part of this post

 Desirable

• Demonstrable experience in leading and managing a national or other network.

 

Salary

·         Salary will be based on experience and aligned to HSE Grade VII

Further information on ICBN, IHF and FSA

http://irishchildhoodbereavementnetwork.blogspot.ie/

http://www.hospicefoundation.ie/

http://www.fsa.ie/

 

Procedure:

Apply in writing including a cover letter outlining your suitability for the position together with curriculum vitae. Applications should be emailed to orla.keegan@hospicefoundation.ie by 5pm on the closing date of Thursday 14th February 2012.

 

Radio programme - the language of bereavement and grief

This engaging BBC Radio 4 programme includes interviews with Winston's Wish staff on how children understand and talk about death & grief. Winston's Wish is a charity for children who have lost a parent, brother or sister. Michael Rosen, the journalist, sits in on a training session for teachers and carers in Cheltenham, and discovers how the language we use can either confuse or comfort young children. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pp5v8

Physical & developmental effects of childhood bereavement - New studies

'Father & Daughter ' (c) Helene Souza

Examining potential correlations between childhood bereavement and long term adverse mental and physical effects continues to provide considerable ground for research.   

Two recent studies present new insights into little explored long term issues for parentally bereaved children.

Brent et al in 'Longitudinal effects of parental bereavement on adolescent developmental competence' examine the extent to which sudden parental bereavement in childhood hinders developmental competency. Their  longitudinal study reported outcomes for 126 children who had experienced a sudden parental death, comparing to a similar non bereaved control group at various intervals up to 5 years post bereavement.
Their findings indicated children who had experienced sudden loss of a parent illustrated less competence in educational development, career planning and peer relations into adulthood.

Dietz et al in an article pre published this week in Biological Psychiatry examine cortisol response in parentally bereaved children. 

Their research which sampled cortisol in 181 bereaved and non bereaved subjects over a 5 year period found a higher cortisol output in children who had experienced parental bereavement. 
They conclude that this higher incidence of cortisol may represent an increased health risk worthy of further study.    

UK seminar on children and bereavement

Children and Bereavement

A Seminar in University of Bath, UK on  7 December 2012 10.00 – 13.00

The seminar will feature the following:

 

Dr Ana Draper, Macmillan Consultant Systemic Psychotherapist

'The associations between Parental Childhood Bereavement and Delinquent Behaviour'

Dr Ana Draper is a Consultant Systemic Psychotherapist working in the Community Palliative Care team in Hertfordshire. She has developed and clinical supported a multi-system therapeutic service working with bereaved families and has been a consultant for the Childhood Bereavement Network. She has authored information and therapeutic story books for parents and children as well as academic papers on therapeutic work in palliative care. She has spoken at the House of Commons about issues concerning childhood bereavement, as well as teaching modules and short courses at the Tavistock Mental Health Trust, KCC foundation and Kings College, London. She has also supported NGO’s in Malawi and Ecuador by providing training for clinicians working in a palliative setting.

 

Dr Rachel Fearnley, CDAS Associate and Teaching Fellow, University of Bath

‘The Communication Continuum: Research into Practice’

This seminar presentation explores the importance of communicating with children when a parent or significant person has a life threatening illness. Parents and professionals are often mindful of talking to the children about the illness and possible death of the parent. However, there is growing research that highlights the importance of talking with children and the negative consequences when these conversations do not take place. The Communication Continuum is a model that offers a practical resource when working with children who are living with a parent (or other significant person) who has a life threatening illness. Drawing on the work of Glaser and Strauss the model can provide a practical tool for practitioners when they are assessing the quality and quantity of information that children have about their parent’s illness.

Rachel Fearnley’s PhD explored children’s experiences when a parent is at the end of life. Rachel is a CDAS associate and teaching fellow at the University of Bath and an independent researcher / consultant. Rachel is a qualified and registered social worker.

 

Dr Jane McCarthy, Department of Social Policy and Criminology, Open University.

Title tbc

Jane is the author of 'Young People's Experiences of Bereavement and Loss: Towards an Inter-disciplinary Approach', 2006, Open University Press.

 

Please use the University of Bath online booking system to book your place on this seminar: http://store.bath.ac.uk/browse/product.asp?catid=155&modid=1&compid=1

 

Attendance at all CDAS seminars is free of charge.

Details of this and all seminars in the series can be found on our website:

http://www.bath.ac.uk/cdas/news/seminar/index.html

New study investigates impact of death of infant sibling on children

Peace-innocent-kids Via Flickr

New research published this week in The American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine examines the impact the death of a baby in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit can have on a sibling. 

'Loss in the NICU: Sibling Matters' by Sanders, Robinson & Carter outlines a methodology including a scripted intervew and facial expression rating adapted from the Wong-Baker FACES pain scale  

While the authors detail difficulty in  accessing the full identified cohort for interview the study does highlight the lack of research on the impact of the loss of a child in the NICU on siblings and indicate avenues for further study.   

Abstract for the study is available HERE and copies are available on request from the Irish Hospice Foundation Library 

Interview on ICBN on John Murray show

Nuala Harmey, bereavement support social worker with Temple Street children's hospital and Geraldine Parsons who lost her two brothers at the age of ten appeared on the John Murray show this morning (July 24th)

Geraldine and Nuala discuss the long term impact of a bereavement in childhood and the importance of support for children following a bereavement

You can listen back to the interview HERE     

Interview with Dr Susan Delaney on Irish Childhood Bereavement Network

Dr Susan Delaney, Bereavement Services Manager Irish Hospice Foundation

If you would like to learn more about the aims of the Irish Childhood Bereavement Network you can listen to a short interview with Dr Susan Delaney, bereavement services manager at the Irish Hospice Foundation HERE    

Minister Frances Fitzgerald Launches the Irish Childhood Bereavement Network

L-R Sharon Foley, CEO Irish Hospice Foundation, Dr Susan Delaney, bereavement services manager Irish Hospice Foundation and Minister Frances Fitzgerald at the launch   

Minister Frances Fitzgerald has today launched the new Irish Childhood Bereavement Network in the offices of the Irish Hospice Foundation.
Speaking at the launch Minister Fitzgerald said the Network ''offers Ireland an opportunity to change the way it approaches childhood grief and could make a significant difference in facilitating the delivery of  appropriate resources for each grieving child.” 

View pictures of the launch HERE


The scoping study for the network undertaken by Dr Kathy Mc Loughlin highlighted the importance of bridging gaps in children's bereavement services and finding ways for service providers to share information and knowledge. The launch document, outlining the aims and objectives of the network can be viewed below 
   

Open publication

Professionals working in children's bereavement support are invited to subscribe to this blog for updates on the network and to register their interest.   

The Irish Childhood Bereavement Network (ICBN) will be launched by Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald on July 23rd in the Irish Hospice Foundation offices, Nassau st.

Anyone wishing to attend or to join the network can subscribe to the blog for further updates on developments