Conversations About Student Mental Health

Dealing with Grief

May 27, 2020 Christopher J. Leonard, MSW, LCSW, M.ED Season 1 Episode 10
Conversations About Student Mental Health
Dealing with Grief
Show Notes

The COVID-19 outbreak has brought grief to the forefront, because nearly all of us are grieving right now. Many of us have loved ones who have died. Others have lost jobs, missed out on graduation ceremonies, or lost the daily social interaction that sustains us. What we've all experienced is the undeniable feeling that the future is uncertain. And that we really can't know when, or if, things will feel normal again. Life is never predictable, but we crave certainty, and can feel quite lost when we feel so deeply unsure about how the future will unfold. 

In this episode, Chris Leonard speaks with Christina Jelly and Jon Brandt, who both lost loved ones during the pandemic. Highlights include:

  • The stages of grief and the different ways people may experience them
  • How the loss of shared ceremonies and support systems during the pandemic has impacted the grieving process
  • How young people may show grief in ways we don’t expect
  • What we can do to help ourselves and support others experiencing grief