Dr. Jennifer Kaplan - From Sibling Death to Service and Support

Our discussion today is again about sibling loss. We speak with Dr. Jennifer Kaplan as we look at it through her lens, a sister whose brother sadly died during her childhood. Her grief not only shaped her life, but it would also lead her into the field of social work and bereavement services.  As part of her doctoral thesis, she developed the Inventory of Youth Adaptation to Loss (IYAL), a strength-based outcome instrument, through her partnerships with dozens of children’s bereavement programs nationwide and in Canada.

Here’s what we talk about:

Your grief doesn’t define you.The value that support groups provides for those who are grieving. They help normalize people with shared losses who are on the same journey.The ripple effects of an unexpected death. Do children really not grieve?Someone who’s passed can still be a significant part of our lives today. The need for grief support in various aspects and levels of society. 

 

About Dr. Jennifer:

Jenny was awarded the second annual Excellence in Service Award at the 2018 Symposium for the National Alliance for Children’s Grief for her contributions to the field in both practice and research. She is the Founding Director of Jeff’s Place, FRIENDS WAY in Rhode Island, and the Founding Clinical Director of Experience Camps. Jenny has worked extensively with bereaved children, teens, and families in various settings over the past 25 years providing counseling, professional training and education, and crisis response. 

Jenny’s publications include You Are Not Alone: Young Adults Coping with Death, book chapters, and peer-reviewed journal articles. She is a graduate of Simmons College School of Social Work, where she has taught as an adjunct faculty member. Jenny developed the Inventory of Youth Adaptation to Loss (IYAL), a strength-based outcome instrument, through her partnerships with dozens of children’s bereavement programs around the country and Canada. Jeff’s Place is proud to be the lead organization for a two-year national research study to inform program development and implementation, policy development, and standards of prevention and care for youth experiencing traumatic loss.

Website: https://jeffsplace.org/research/ | https://jeffsplace.org/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JeffsPlaceMetrowest/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jeffsplacemetrowest/Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeffsplace

Get Dr. Jennifer’s book, You Are Not Alone – Young Adults Coping with Death, here! (100% of sales go to Jeff’s Place) https://jeffsplace.org/books/ 

TEDx Talk – Creating Healing: Connection & Vulnerability Dr. Jennifer Kaplan

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKF6P1bXwyw 

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