Working with Families of Those Who are Dying: Interacting with Younger Family Members

Type of Presentation

Workshop

Location

Room 2911

Start Date

10-12-2018 2:00 PM

End Date

10-12-2018 2:50 PM

Abstract

The American paradox surrounding of death and dying is undeniable and creates barriers in individuals’ abilities to adjust to the accompanying family disruption. References to mortality permeate pop culture (i.e., primetime television, box office hits, children’s cartoons, music, social media, nursery rhymes). Although the constant exposure to death is apparent, there is little factual and educational outlets for which individuals can engage in evidence-based assessments of death and dying. For instance, death education was not formally offered in American curricula until the 1970’s (Leming & Dickinson, 2016) and is still sparse today. American culture also emphasizes terminology that does not directly address death and dying. Many individuals go to great lengths to avoid conversations pertaining to death and even feel uncomfortable using explicit terms such as ‘death’, ‘died’, and ‘dying’. More often we see the use of euphemistic language to soften direct terminology and this approach can be especially problematic to young children’s coping and to family members struggling to confront the inevitability of the death. As individuals development, cognitive processes become increasingly more complex and dictate the level of complexity one is able to understand in death-related conversations and in exploring personal bereavement and grieving processes. Professionals and careproviders alike would benefit from evidence-based information overviewing the ways in which to effectively interact with people of varying ages who are coping with loss through death.

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Oct 12th, 2:00 PM Oct 12th, 2:50 PM

Working with Families of Those Who are Dying: Interacting with Younger Family Members

Room 2911

The American paradox surrounding of death and dying is undeniable and creates barriers in individuals’ abilities to adjust to the accompanying family disruption. References to mortality permeate pop culture (i.e., primetime television, box office hits, children’s cartoons, music, social media, nursery rhymes). Although the constant exposure to death is apparent, there is little factual and educational outlets for which individuals can engage in evidence-based assessments of death and dying. For instance, death education was not formally offered in American curricula until the 1970’s (Leming & Dickinson, 2016) and is still sparse today. American culture also emphasizes terminology that does not directly address death and dying. Many individuals go to great lengths to avoid conversations pertaining to death and even feel uncomfortable using explicit terms such as ‘death’, ‘died’, and ‘dying’. More often we see the use of euphemistic language to soften direct terminology and this approach can be especially problematic to young children’s coping and to family members struggling to confront the inevitability of the death. As individuals development, cognitive processes become increasingly more complex and dictate the level of complexity one is able to understand in death-related conversations and in exploring personal bereavement and grieving processes. Professionals and careproviders alike would benefit from evidence-based information overviewing the ways in which to effectively interact with people of varying ages who are coping with loss through death.