About this course

Learning Objectives

• Assess grief using a structured intake process that identifies key elements influencing the client's loss experience.
• Differentiate between normal grief, prolonged grief, and other mental health conditions, and recognize the factors that contribute to the intensity of grief responses.
• Formulate a comprehensive treatment plan incorporating grief-informed interventions tailored to the client’s specific grief reactions.
• Identify effective grief interventions based on the client's grief reactions and unique needs.

Learning Levels

• Beginner and Intermediate, all levels are welcomed

Target Audience

Course Instructor(s)

• 

  Kelly Daugherty, LCSW-R, FT, GC-C, BC-TMH

  Grief Specialist and Educator

  Kelly Daugherty, a seasoned social worker with over two decades in the clinical field, is a Fellow in Thanatology, specializing in death, dying, and bereavement. Anchored in Malta, NY, she owns Greater Life Grief Counseling, LCSW, and the Center for Informed Grief, LLC. Kelly co-owns Healing Strides, LLC, where emotional and physical well-being intersects in a unique 7-week program for grieving women. Kelly is also a contributing author of "Holistic Mental Health" and "Brave Kids," and lead author in the collaborative book "The Grief Experience: Tools for Acceptance, Resilience and Connection" set to release in February. She is dedicated to revolutionizing grief support by offering tools and insights to individuals and professionals alike.
  Connect with Kelly: https://linktr.ee/kellydaugherty

Disclosure

References

• Ahluwalia, S. C., Bandini, J. I., Maglione, M., Miles, J., O’Hollaren, K. M., Zhang, D., Tobin, K. S., Rector, K., Khan, A., Hughes, J., Yedavalli, M. S., Li, S. S., Alrashed, E., Alkabbani, N., Divadkar, S., Park, W., Shaw, B., Swanton, B., Truong, A., . . . Hempel, S. (2025). Interventions to improve care of bereaved persons. Systematic review (AHRQ Publication No. 25-EHC010). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
• Colvin, C., & Ceide, M. (2021). Review of grief therapies for Older adults. Current Geriatrics Reports, 10(3), 116–123. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13670-021-00362-w
• Eddinger, J. R., Hardt, M. M., & Williams, J. L. (2019). Concurrent Treatment for PTSD and prolonged grief Disorder: Review of outcomes for Exposure- and Nonexposure-Based treatments. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying, 83(3), 446–469. https://doi.org/10.1177/0030222819854907
• Ennis, N., Bottomley, J., Sawyer, J., Moreland, A. D., & Rheingold, A. A. (2022). Measuring grief in the context of Traumatic loss: A Systematic review of assessment instruments. Trauma Violence & Abuse, 24(4), 2346–2362. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380221093694
• Harrsen, K., Tølbøll, M. M., & Larsen, L. H. (2022). Effects of an integrated treatment program on grief and distress among parentally bereaved young adults. OMEGA - Journal of Death and Dying, 89(1), 155–171. https://doi.org/10.1177/00302228211069713
• Killikelly, C., & Maercker, A. (2023). The cultural supplement: A new method for assessing culturally relevant prolonged grief disorder symptoms. Clinical Psychology in Europe, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.32872/cpe.7655
• Lee, S. A., & Neimeyer, R. A. (2022). Grief Impairment Scale: A biopsychosocial measure of grief-related functional impairment. Death Studies, 47(5), 519–530. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2022.2113605
• Peña-Vargas, C., Armaiz-Peña, G., & Castro-Figueroa, E. (2021). A biopsychosocial approach to grief, depression, and the role of emotional regulation. Behavioral Sciences, 11(8), 110. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs11080110
• Reed, G. M., First, M. B., Billieux, J., Cloitre, M., Briken, P., Achab, S., Brewin, C. R., King, D. L., Kraus, S. W., & Bryant, R. A. (2022). Emerging experience with selected new categories in the ICD‐11: complex PTSD, prolonged grief disorder, gaming disorder, and compulsive sexual behaviour disorder. World Psychiatry, 21(2), 189–213. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20960
• Szuhany, K. L., Malgaroli, M., Miron, C. D., & Simon, N. M. (2021). Prolonged Grief Disorder: Course, diagnosis, assessment, and treatment. FOCUS the Journal of Lifelong Learning in Psychiatry, 19(2), 161–172. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.focus.20200052