Grief STEP™ Programs - Training and Workshops

Fall 2008

Death in the Workplace: When Tragedy Impacts Business

Knowing what to say and do can make a positive difference!

Sacramento ... Nov. 7, 2008

Grief & Tragedy: The Termination of Innocence
Understand and conceptualize basic trauma interventions

Future Workshop - Date & Location
to be announced

CISM: Group Crisis Intervention
Standardized training used worldwide!
Learn about crisis & disaster interventions.
ICISF Approved Curruculum

Future Training - Date & Location
to be announced
For More Information

Grief Support for Emergency Services
Death in the Field & Grief Support Guidelines
The standard of care to be used by paramedics, firefighters and law enforcement.
Future Workshop - Date & Location
to be announced

For More Information

Want to schedule a workshop or trainings in your area?

Call (916) 366-8026

email: training@griefsupport.org

To download printable flyer click here

Winter & Spring 2009

Trainings and Workshops
For More Information:

Call (916) 366-8026

email: training@griefsupport.org

Death in the Workplace:
When Tragedy Impacts Business

Knowing what to say and do can make a positive difference!

Sacramento, California November 7, 2008 Time: 8 AM - 5 PM

Cost with materials: $160 early registration/$175 late registration**

Location:
National University Sacramento Campus, Room 208
9320 Tech Center Dr. Sacramento, CA 95826

Part of our ‘Say the Right Thing, Do the Right Thing’ workshop series. While we try to separate our personal lives from our work environments there are times when this is impossible to achieve. The most profound of these situations is when death, dying and tragedy impact the workplace. This workshop, developed in 2002, will help participants be prepared by knowing what to say and do when tragedy occurs. From this workshop participants will know how to provide sensitive support and when needed, appropriate leadership.

Materials:
Includes course workbook and certificate of completion.

Who Should Attend:

This workshop is for professionals including business executives, employers, managers, supervisors, administrators, business students, human resource and EAP personnel from any business environment. CEU's available for LCSWs and LMFTs.

Workshop Goals:

How to support healthy expression within the workplace.
Fundamentals of crisis management.
How to notify employees: what to avoid and what to encourage
What to expect after breaking the news, including what you can and cannot control
Possible legal considerations.
Specific concerns following suicide, homicide, and accidental death
Disaster Planning.
Additional resources.

Workshop Schedule (8:00 – 5:00P)

8:00 - 8:30aRegistration
8:30 - 9:00a Introductions - course overview - group exercise
9:00 - 10:15a Supporting healthy expression, fundamentals of crisis management
10:15 - 10:30a 15 minute break
10:30 - 10:45aVideo
10:45 - 11:45aDeath Telling, legal Issues, rumor control - expectations and complications
11:45 - 12:00pGroup Exercise
12:00 - 1:00p Lunch on your own
1:00 - 1:15p Video
1:15 - 2:30pSuicide, homicide, accidental and sensational death
2:30 - 2:45p 15 minute break
2:45 - 3:30pDisaster Planning
3:30 - 4:15pGroup Exercise
4:15 - 4:30Provider stress
4:30 - 5:00Course overview, evaluations

** Additional Cost $5.00 to process CEU's for LMFT and LCSW. This course meets the qualifications for 7 hours of continuing education credit for MFCCs and/or LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. #PCE3834.

Workshop Instructor

Mary S. Reigel MS, LMFT has been working in the field of death and trauma since 1981. Initially specializing in survivors of homicide, suicide and accidental death, she has been the Director of Grief Counseling for Suicide Prevention. In 1992 Mary helped establish the Standard of Care of individuals and families used by firefighters, paramedics and police when death is determined at a 911 call. A founder of Grief Step™ Programs, her “Say the Right Thing, Do the Right Thing” training programs has been taught throughout the U.S. since 1992.

Experienced in disaster mitigation, she was the director of the FEMA funded recovery programs for families who had a loved one die in the Loma Prieta Earthquake, 1989 and the Oakland Hills Firestorm in 1991. As part of an international search and rescue team she assisted the Peruvian Fire Department during the El Niño 1998 and the Canadian, Nova Scotian emergency services following the Swissair 111 crash that same year.

Following September 11, 2001, Mary provided assistance to the airline and business community. She has been the CISM consultant and trainer for Caltrans and has helped train staff at the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta in family notification and disaster preparedness. She is an approved instructor for the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation. Mary has a private psychotherapy practice in Sacramento Ca, where she also provides consultation, training and group intervention to a variety of local businesses.

CISM: Group Crisis Intervention
Standardized training used worldwide!

This is an authorized ICISF training. Sometimes called the Mitchell Method, this training is taught worldwide to help volunteer and professional firefighters, police, EMS, medical, military, transportation, pastoral, crisis and mental health personnel assist peers and groups following crisis and disaster.

Materials:
Each participant receives a basic manual published by the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation and upon conclusion, a certificate of completion from the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF). This registered certificate can be used to show completion of basic CISM training requirements for many disaster, mental health and emergency agencies.

Who Should Attend:
Basic CISM training is open to any person, volunteer or professional, who wishes to know more about helping others deal with disaster, crisis or any serious situation. Whether you are a volunteer with a church, pastoral or medical relief organization; a civil employee, an employee or employer in the private business sector, or a licensed mental health professional, this course will help you gain a better understanding of disaster and crisis mitigation. CEU's available for LCSWs and LMFTs.

The ICISF recommends this class for anyone working in Crisis Intervention, Disaster Response, Education, Emergency Services, Employee Assistance, Healthcare, Homeland Security, Human Resources, Mental Health, Military, Spiritual Care, Transportation and Traumatic Stress.

Course Goals:
From this course you will learn an integrated, comprehensive, multi-component, and organized approach for the reduction and control of the harmful aspects of stress due to exposure to distressing events such as: death or injury of a co-worker, exposure to traumatic incidents, threat of injury or death to self or others. Critical Incident Stress Defusing is one of the group of interventions included in this training. Other topics covered: pre-incident education, on-scene support, demobilization and debriefings. The curriculum and materials used in this course are approved by the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation (ICISF).

Training Schedule:

Day 1 (8:00 – 5:00P)

·      General, cumulative, critical incident stress and PTSD

·      High risk populations: emergency services, military, other

·      ‘Critical Incidents’ - death, injury, threat, terror, etc.

·      Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) fundamentals

·      Core intervention tactics

·      Demobilization

·      Defusing of small groups

Day 2 (8:00 – 5:00P)

·      Defusing Demonstration

·      Essentials of group intervention, Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD)

·      Assessing the need for CISD

·      Factors which enhance CISD success

·      Questions / Answers

** Additional Cost of $5.00 to process CEU's for MFTs and LCSWs. This course meets the qualifications for 14 hours of continuing education credit for MFCCs/MFTs and/or LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. Instructor CEU provider number is #PCE3834.

Workshop Instructor

Mary S. Reigel MS, LMFT has been working in critical incident stress management since 1990. She has provided Critical Incident stress debriefing for law enforcement, fire departments, hospital staff, park services, EMS, mental health and social services throughout California.

Initially specializing in survivors of homicide, suicide and accidental death, she has been the Director of Grief Counseling for Suicide Prevention. Mary helped establish the Standard of Care of individuals and families used by firefighters, paramedics and police when death is determined at a 911 call. A founder of Grief Step™ Programs, her “Say the Right Thing, Do the Right Thing” training program has been taught throughout the U.S. to emergency services.

Experienced in disaster mitigation, she was the director of the FEMA funded recovery programs for families who had a loved one die in the Loma Prieta Earthquake, 1989 and the Oakland Hills Firestorm in 1991. As part of an international search and rescue team she assisted the Peruvian Fire Department during the El Niño 1998 and the Canadian, Nova Scotian emergency services following the Swissair 111 crash that same year.

Following September 11, 2001, Mary provided assistance to the airline and business community. She has been the CISM consultant and trainer for Caltrans and has helped train staff at the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta in family notification and disaster preparedness. She is an approved instructor for the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation. Her private practice is in Sacramento CA, where she also provides consultation, training and group intervention to the business community.

Grief & Tragedy: The Termination of Innocence
Understand and conceptualize basic trauma interventions

Part of our ‘Say the Right Thing, Do the Right Thing’ workshop series. We were asked to develop this workshop in 2006 for individuals who provide community mental health counseling, outreach and crisis intervention. This program helps professional or volunteer understand and conceptualize basic intervention options following grief and trauma.

Materials:
Includes course workbook and certificate of completion.

Who Should Attend:
Though geared for professionals and volunteers in social services, mental health, health services, crisis services and pastoral care, this workshop is open to any person who wishes to learn more about the impact and mitigation of tragic events, grief and trauma, on individuals. CEU's available for LCSWs and LMFTs.

Course Goals:

Learn current research on how our brain reacts to grief and trauma.

Learn to conceptualize components of traumatic incidents including death of a loved one.

Learn a hierarchy of basic interventions.

Learn about current research outcomes of effective advanced therapeutic interventions

Learn three simple activities to reduce provider stress.

Workshop Schedule (8:00 – 5:00P)

8:00 - 8:30aRegistration
8:30 - 9:00a Introductions - course overview - group exercise
9:00 - 10:15a The Brain, Grief and Trauma - recent research findings
10:15 - 10:30a 15 minute break
10:30 - 10:45aSurvivor of homicide video
10:45 - 11:45aComponents of traumatic incidents including death of a loved one
11:45 - 12:00pGroup Exercise
12:00 - 1:00p Lunch on your own
1:00 - 1:15p What about me? Video children
1:15 - 2:00pBasic interventions
2:00 - 2:15pGroup Exercise
2:15 - 2:30p 15 minute break
2:30 - 3:00pBasic interventions group exercise
3:00 - 4:00pCurrent research on effective therapeutic advanced interventions
4:00 - 4:30Provider stress
4:30 - 5:00Course overview, evaluations

** Additional Cost $5.00 to process CEU's for LMFT and LCSW. This course meets the qualifications for 7 hours of continuing education credit for MFCCs and/or LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. #PCE3834.

Workshop Instructor

Mary S. Reigel MS, LMFT has been working in the field of death and trauma since 1981. Initially specializing in survivors of homicide, suicide and accidental death, she has been the Director of Grief Counseling for Suicide Prevention. Mary helped establish the Standard of Care of individuals and families used by firefighters, paramedics and police when death is determined at a 911 call. A founder of Grief Step™ Programs, her “Say the Right Thing, Do the Right Thing” training program has been taught throughout the U.S. to emergency services.

Experienced in disaster mitigation, she was the director of the FEMA funded recovery programs for families who had a loved one die in the Loma Prieta Earthquake, 1989 and the Oakland Hills Firestorm in 1991. As part of an international search and rescue team she assisted the Peruvian Fire Department during the El Niño 1998 and the Canadian, Nova Scotian emergency services following the Swissair 111 crash that same year.

Following September 11, 2001, Mary provided assistance to the airline and business community. She has been the CISM consultant and trainer for Caltrans and has helped train staff at the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta in family notification and disaster preparedness. She is an approved instructor for the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation.

Mary has a private psychotherapy practice in Sacramento Ca, where she also provides consultation, training and group intervention. Mary is a certified EMDR and Hypnotherapy therapist. Her webpage is www.maryreigel.com.

Grief Support for Emergency Service Personnel
Death in the Field & Grief Support Guidelines

Our Original ‘Say the Right Thing, Do the Right Thing’ training program.

Note: This training deals with the time immediately following patient death or when patient death is imminent. This training addresses this 20 - 45 minute interaction with on-scene family. This program is not to replace crisis or chaplaincy programs, but to fill in the gap before help arrives and on those occasions when help is not available. It is recommended that crisis and chaplaincy personnel take this course along with emergency personnel.

We originally started developing our program in 1990 in response to the changing termination of resuscitation (TOR) protocols and non-transport policies of EMS agencies. Though many agencies have affiliation with adjunct services such as Chaplaincy Programs or Crisis Volunteers, it is not practical for fire, paramedics or law enforcement (911 teams) to wait until these individuals arrive at the scene to interact with the family when there is a death. Therefore, it is important that on-scene personnel know what to do immediately to manage the situation during this critical time.

Our original task was to come up with a plan to counter the fears that dead bodies would be left on living room floors with callousness. We were to implement a program for the 911 responder that would instruct him or her in 1) how to tell families that their loved one was not responding and would not be transported to a hospital and 2) what was an appropriate standard of assistance to apply given the seriousness of the situation.

Our first official training was in 1992. By 2000 trainings, usually with local law enforcement, included San Francisco Emergency Services, San Francisco Fire Department, Alameda County EMS and fire services, Phoenix Arizona’s Fire Department, Riverside County Emergency Services and a variety of systems nationwide who participated in several trainings at national and statewide conferences.

In California, EMSA made available to each of their EMS districts the Grief STEP™ Programs’ Standard of Care, unprecedented in the Nation. In 2002 Iceland became the first nation to take our program and use it as a standard of care for it's emergency systems. Today this program has set the Standard of Care for the on-scene bereaved and remains the most ethical and appropriate program in use to address the sensitivities needed in any non-transport situation.

Materials:
Includes course workbook, laminate card and certificate of completion.

Who Should Attend:

Emergency service personnel, firefighters, paramedics, law enforcement, medical/hospital staff, chaplains, hospice, nursing home, crisis and adjunct personnel. CEU's available for LCSWs and LMFTs.

Program Benefits - When personnel know what to do and say, everyone saves

Customer Valued Service

• The community you serve gets a very appropriate, value added service.
• Appropriate and sensitive interaction directly influences the voting population.

Reduces Provider Stress

• Training provides a historical, social and legal context, thus increasing the comfort level for 911 team members regarding patient death.
• Knowing what to do and say for the bereaved reduces provider stress.
• Paramedics and EMTs are allowed to shift their focus from identifying with the problem – death, to understanding what to do with the bystander family/friends, thus identifying with the solution.
• The natural desire to help is still important, even with death, thus increasing job satisfaction.
• Paramedics, EMTs, fire and law enforcement experience increased respect from the community served.
• Skills are useful in personal life.

Lasting Impressions

• People in crisis do remember their good and bad encounters with emergency services. Citizens remembering supportive experiences during their time of need will enhance your professional reputation.
• Using thoughtful interpersonal skills helps promote the profession within the community, thus influencing the next generation.

Saves money

• Reduces expensive unnecessary transports to the hospital.
• Non-transports eliminate costly and futile /unnecessary ED workups.
• Reduced Code 3 transports lowers the odds of ambulance involved traffic accidents, thus reducing injury and liability.
• Frantic family members are kept off the road, reducing the risk of auto accidents and the additional 911 response required.

Workshop Schedule (8:00 – 5:00P)

8:00 - 8:30 Registration
8:30 - 9:00 Introductions - course overview - definitions
9:00 - 9:45 Perspectives: Historical and Social, Cultural and Racial Sensitivity, Gender Bias
9:45 - 10:15 Legal Issues
10:15 - 10:30 15 minute break
10:30 - 11:00 Scene Guidelines
12:00 - 1:00 Lunch on your own
1:00 - 1:15 Three part anatomy of death notification
1:15 - 1:45 Immediate Grief Reactions
1:45 - 2:30 Recruiting Help, Normal Questions, Body management
2:30 - 3:00 15 minute break
3:00 - 3:30 Coroner's Case, Suicide, Homicide, Accidental, Medical Paraphernalia
3:30 - 4:00 Funeral, Organ & Tissue Donor Information, Handouts, Leaving the Scene
4:00 - 4:30 Children, Translators, Elderly/Disabled, By-stander Life Saving Efforts
4:30 - 5:00Provider Stress, evaluations

** Additional Cost $5.00 to process CEU's for LMFT and LCSW. This course meets the qualifications for 7 hours of continuing education credit for MFCCs and/or LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. #PCE3834.

Workshop Instructor

Mary S. Reigel MS, LMFT has been working in the field of death and trauma since 1981. Initially specializing in survivors of homicide, suicide and accidental death, she has been the Director of Grief Counseling for Suicide Prevention. In 1992 Mary helped establish the Standard of Care of individuals and families used by firefighters, paramedics and police when death is determined at a 911 call. A founder of Grief Step™ Programs, her “Say the Right Thing, Do the Right Thing” training programs has been taught throughout the U.S. since 1992.

Experienced in disaster mitigation, she was the director of the FEMA funded recovery programs for families who had a loved one die in the Loma Prieta Earthquake, 1989 and the Oakland Hills Firestorm in 1991. As part of an international search and rescue team she assisted the Peruvian Fire Department during the El Niño 1998 and the Canadian, Nova Scotian emergency services following the Swissair 111 crash that same year.

Following September 11, 2001, Mary provided assistance to the airline and business community. She has been the CISM consultant and trainer for Caltrans and has helped train staff at the Federal Reserve Bank in Atlanta in family notification and disaster preparedness. She is an approved instructor for the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation. Mary has a private psychotherapy practice in Sacramento CA, where she also provides consultation, training and group intervention to a variety of local businesses.