connecting to grief, connecting through grief webinar series: how to make your campus “grief...
TRANSCRIPT
Connecting to
Grie
f,
Connecting th
rough G
rief
Webinar Serie
s:
How to Make Your Campus
“Grief Informed”
Wednesday July 16th at 2 pm EST
Thank you to our sponsor
A big thank you to our sponsor New
York Life Foundation for
helping us to make these webinars
possible!
A “Silent epidemic”
• 22-30% of college students are in the first year of grieving the death of a family member or close friend
• 35-48% are within the first 2 years (Balk, 2001; Balk, 2008).
Society’s Expectations of College Students
• Partying• No worries• Figuring things out• Lazy• Broke• Studying• Having fun• Reality check• Open
• Learning• Expanding horizons• New friends• New relationships• Experimenting• Fun• Independent• Wild and crazy• Self-centered
Snapshot of a College Student
• Independence– Financially, geographically, responsibility, etc.– Balancing work, family, school, etc.
• New Experiences/Relationships– People, places, events, etc.– Shift in world view
• Life Goals– Career, direction, jobs, etc.
• Higher Education– Expectations, demands, etc.
Snapshot of a Grieving Student
• Report:– Feeling alone/isolated– Academics might suffer– Social life can hit extremes (none or overly
active)– So many life pressures– Feeling lost– Lack of motivation– Depression– Lack of support from non-bereaved peers– Limited resources on campus
Our Vision for a “Grief Informed” Campus
• National way to honor campus-wide efforts to educate faculty/staff and students, as well as support and empower grieving students.
• Up to date on research and policies to ensure the highest level of competency.
• Create networks to share plans, policies, and information about college student grief.
The Holistic Approach
• Advocate for a grief-informed campus:– Mental health
counseling staff– Dean of Students– Faculty– Other staff members– Students– Faith-based
supporters– Residence Life staff
• Provide:– Bereavement Leave
Policy– Education on grieving
college students• Lunch ‘n Learn,
webinars, trainings, articles, orientation, etc.
– Mental health counseling
– National Students of AMF chapter – peer-led grief support group
Creating a Campus Community
To Do:Create a task force
of students and faculty/staff
Create a Bereavement Leave Policy on your campus
Start a National Students of AMF chapter
Dispense information about grief to the student body
Create educational programs for individuals to learn about grief
Create a crisis plan for possible campus tragedy
Bereavement Leave Policy
Policy: • “Excuses students for funeral leave and gives
them an opportunity to earn equivalent credit or show evidence they can meet the learning outcomes for missed assignments or assessments.”– Specific guidelines are set for the amount of
time a student may be absent based on relationship to the deceased and where the death happened.
– Non-family losses may be petitioned by students.
Bereavement Leave Policy
• After a death loss– Student contacts Dean of Students office
• Dean of Students Office– Sends out official leave notice to student’s
instructors– Ensures student may make up work from
absence• Benefits:– Help normalize grief experience– Self-care and leave of absence is “normal” and
healthy– Creates a uniform set of regulations for
instructors and other faculty/staff
Educating Your Campus
• Lunch n’ Learn– A great way to engage colleagues and teach them the
important basics of college student grief and how they can help.
• Orientation– Create a full day program to talk about college student
grief as well as crisis planning on your campus. This can be facilitated by your task force and a National Students of AMF representative.
• Bereavement Leave Policy– Allows colleagues to have set guidelines to follow. This
will help both them and the students in better communication and understanding.
Educating Your Campus
• Workshops – A National Students of AMF representative presents about
college student grief and how to respond as a campus community. Or have an AMF student present about their chapter.
• Webinars– Have colleagues join our FREE webinars to raise awareness
and education.
• Task Force Consultation– Having troubles knowing exactly what your taskforce should
be working on? A National Students of AMF representative can do a one-day or multi-day consultation with your team to make sure you are doing all you can to support your campus.
National Students of AMF Chapter: Two Part Model
Peer-led Grief Support Group
• This is a group for students grieving the illness or death of a loved one.
• Gives students a safe place to connect with peers and tell their grief stories.
• This is NOT a counseling group and there is NO mental health professional present.
Service Group• This is for grieving
students as well as supporters and friends.
• Allows students to be empowered and support a great cause while being surrounded with AMF members and friends.
Why Peer-led Support?
• Receiving mental health services can be “scary”– Outlet for support– Less threatening environment– Stigma– We lower the stigma about MH services and refer to
counseling
• Builds a community– Open forum to talk about grief, school, and life
experiences– Promotes interpersonal relationships– Feelings of being heard and understood
Why Service Groups?
• Empowering experience– Supporting important causes– Establishing peer to peer connections– Creating a feeling of belonging
• Build leadership skills– Nurturing community networking– Accomplishing tasks as a team – Expanding “normal” college experience
• Promotes the Support Group– Raise awareness on campus about Support Group and
talking about grief
Students of AMF Chapters Goals
Reduce• Isolation• Loneliness• Lack of peer
community• Helplessness• Taboo
Encourage• Support• Empowerment• Connectedness• Leadership• Sharing feelings and loss
experiences (death and other)• Hope• Unites the human grief
experience with other peers• Creates a healthy outlet for
grief• Education• Community involvement
Take Action on Your Campus
• Create campus to do listBe there for your students (“I am here”)Share with your students about National Students of
AMF at www.studentsofamf.org and other resources on campus (Deans, Campus Ministry, Counseling)
Encourage your students to channel their energy towards positive outlets
If a chapter begins, consider being Faculty Advisor or a Community Board member
Share with your colleagues about AMFLook into Bereavement Leave Policy on your campusCreate a taskforce to help grieving studentsEducate students and colleagues about college
student grief
National Students of AMF Video
Thank you for
joining us!
Please join us next month
The 4 F’s of Grief:
The Importance of Feelings, Food, Fitness & Fun
August 13th @ 2pm EST