66th Annual Conference

Thursday, February 19

All-Day Workshops

10:00 A.M.-12:30 P.M. & 2:30-5:00 P.M.

Workshop 4a

The Ties That Bind: An Early Parental Loss Group (Ages Prenatal to 35) for Adults

Chair:

Mary V. Sussillo, LCSW, BCD, Private Practice, New York, New York

The young person who loses a parent often has a need for some sense of connection with the dead parent. Overwhelming affects and/or family rigidity can foreclose continuity with the lost parent; the relationship is often hidden or disavowed. The presenter will demonstrate how to both "let go" and "hold on" to the dead parent while creating new group relationships.

experiential-demonstration-sharing of work experiences-didactic

Learning Objectives:

The attendee will be able to:

1. Identify the dual tasks of mourning--gradual separation and continuity.

2. Describe how the young person's mourning is different from the adult's.

3. Apply proactive interventions with their own patients and groups.

Course References:

Gaines, R. (1997), Detachment and continuity. Contemporary Psychoanalysis, 33;549-571.

Silverman, P., Nickman S. and Worden, J. (1992), Detachment revisited: the child's reconstruction of the dead parent. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 62(4):494-503.

Sussillo, M. (2005) Beyond the grave: Adult treatment of adolescent parental loss. Psychoanalysis Dialogues, 15(4): 499-527