Children and Adolescents

Wednesday, April 16, 2008
1:30 - 4:30

HFA's 2008 Teleconference will focus on the experience of grieving children and adolescents and the ways that all hospice professionals, educators and counselors, parents, social workers, physicians, grief counselors, funeral directors, and clergy can best support these populations as they cope with loss and grief.  The program and accompanying book written by child and adolescent grief experts will examine the newest theories and practices, and as always, will combine academic research with hands-on ideas for use in hospice support groups and other settings.

Hosted by the
Fisher Institute for Wellness and Gerontology and
the Community Center for Vital Aging at 
Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana 

Hospice Foundation of America's Fifteenth Annual, Living With Grief^® Teleconference, moderated by Frank Sesno, Professor of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University and Special Correspondent with CNN, will feature the following panel of experts:

Kenneth J. Doka, Ph.D., M.Div., is a Senior Consultant to Hospice Foundation of America and Professor of Gerontology at the Graduate School of the College of New Rochelle, New York.
Nancy Hogan, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, is distinguished professor and associate dean for research at Loyola University -- Chicago.  Dr. Hogan's research and scholarship has been devoted to generating and testing adolescent and adult theories of grief and loss and the dissemination of those findings.  The Grief to Personal Growth Theory and adolescent and adult bereavement questionnaires are used nationally and internationally to guide research and practice.  Dr. Hogan has published over 50 peer-reviewed bereavement and end-of-life works nationally and internationally.  She was awarded the Association of Death, Dying and Counseling 2007 Research Award.
Rita Milburn-Dobson, M.A., RNC, FT, is a registered nurse with over 25 years of health care experience.  Personal experiences of perinatal loss led her to form Precious Gems Supportive Services (PGSS), a non-profit organization that provides bereavement support and counseling within vulnerable populations regardless of ability to pay.  She has received advanced training in CISM and school crisis response.  She is an author, church musician and frequent national lecturer of grief and loss related topics to professional staffs, churches and the community.
Laura Olague, M.Ed., CT, is the executive director and co-founder of the Children's Grief Center of El Paso.  She holds a bachelor's degree in Social Work and a master's degree in Guidance and Counseling and is certified in thanatology.  Ms. Olague has been working with grieving children and families for 16 years.  She has been executive director of the Children's Grief Center of El Paso for the last 12 years.  Ms. Olague is involved in providing professional education to the community on helping bereaved children thrive.
Stacy Orloff, Ed.D., LCSW, is the vice president of Palliative Care and Community Programs of the Hospices of the Florida Suncoast and has worked at Hospice of Florida Suncoast for 17 years.  She serves as chair of the organization's Social Work Outcomes Workgroup and is also co-chair of the Children's Project on Palliative/Hospice Services.  She also serves as Florida's hospice representatives on the state steering committee for the Partners in Care:  Together for Kids, a palliative care waiver program.  She has published in several peer reviewed books and journals and has co-edited two books.  Dr. Orloff holds a doctorate degree in Organizational Leadership.
J. William Worden, Ph.D., ABPP, is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and holds academic appointments at Harvard Medical School and the Rosemead Graduate School of Psychology in California.  His research and clinical work over 30 years has centered on issues of life-threatening illness and life-threatening behavior.  Dr. Worden has lectured and written on topics related to terminal illness, cancer care, and bereavement.  His book Grief Counseling & Grief Therapy:  A Handbook for the Mental Health Practitioner, now in its third edition, has been translated into 12 languages and is widely used around the world as the standard reference on the subject.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this teleconference, participants will be able to:

• Describe the situations that might engender grief in children and adolescents as well as the particular ways that grief may be manifested in children and adolescents;
• Describe and evaluate strategies for work with grieving children and adolescents, including counseling, support groups, expressive and play therapies, school-based programs, and camp-based programs;
• Discuss effective strategies to empower parents and other support systems, such as school and faith communities, to assist grieving children and adolescents; and 
• Describe the unique issues that grieving children and adolescents pose for professional caregivers and offer strategies for effective self-help and professional support.

The cost is free and open to the public

Venue: Worthen Arena Lounge, Ball State University

Please mail completed registration to:

Fisher Institute for Wellness and Gerontology
Ball State University
Muncie, Indiana 47306.

or fax completed registration to:
(765) 285-8237