April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
EDUCATOR'S PERSPECTIVE
Students' stories symbolize bereavement studies program
Begun in 1999, it is one of few college programs in the entire country intensively training participants to accompany the dying and bereaved, using spiritual practices for healing and wholeness: storytelling, meditation, visualization, expressive arts, dream work, modes of prayer, energy medicine and creative ritual.
Instructors are academically qualified and each has had significant clinical experience. Courses cover historical, philosophical and theoretical aspects of bereavement, experiential exercises and reflection.
The program has attracted a broad spectrum of participants, including parents, teachers, healthcare professionals, clergy, therapists, social workers, student nurses, police officers and funeral directors.
Bereavement projects are service-oriented. Students have worked in prisons, addiction centers, churches, schools and universities, synagogues, childcare centers, hospices, hospitals, nursing homes and agencies.
Projects have included a workshop on death and dying for teenagers, a retreat for priests on healing grief, workshops related to school and church closings, a retreat for women who have lost a child and a workshop for clinicians on healing grieving children through expressive arts.
Many bereavement students have become hospice volunteers. Four graduates have been hired by funeral homes to follow up with bereaved families after the wake and funeral; five have gone on to take Clinical Pastoral Education courses to be hospital or hospice chaplains.
The bereavement program has also been conducive to changing careers. Davia Boyle, for example, was a dental hygienist when she began the program to cope with issues of grief and loss. She found herself drawn to helping others and earned her certification.
Subsequently, she attended a funeral facilitation workshop and was then hired by Scott and Barbieri Funeral Homes. Davia meets with families at the time of death, assisting in creating meaningful, personalized wakes and funerals. She collaborates with clergy and facilitates services.
In addition, Davia offers counseling, support groups and community education. She has created a social network of bereaved persons who meet bimonthly. A natural teacher, Davia recently joined Maria College's faculty as instructor of the course, "Creating Meaningful Wakes and Funerals."
Jean Malone, a social worker, received her bereavement certification and was hired by Washington County Hospice as a chaplain and bereavement coordinator.
Regarding classes in bereavement studies, Jean said she hadn't expected "the profound personal experience I have had. I have felt my heart expand and my understanding deepen, allowing me to begin some much-needed personal healing."
Micki Basal is a nurse for St. Catherine's Center for Children in Albany. The bereavement studies program inspired her to create a grief and loss center for children whose issues included parental abandonment, termination of parental rights, sexual abuse and domestic violence.
The Albany Diocese donated a house as a residential setting for these troubled children. Micki organized fundraisers and assembled a library of children's books on grief and loss, as well as art supplies, musical instruments and puppets.
Micki and I partnered in offering workshops for clinicians on helping disenfranchised, grieving children heal through expressive arts. Initially, the program included outreach to the community. Financial restrictions narrowed the focus to the children of St. Catherine's Center, but Micki's dream of a larger program remains.
Sandy LeBoeuf came to the Maria College bereavement program as a music teacher. Upon receiving her certification, she took a Clinical Pastoral Education program and is now a valued senior residency chaplain at Albany Medical Center.
Michael Petrolle was an apple-picker who dutifully attended classes sporting a ponytail and jeans. After a year of study, he came to a ceremony to receive his bereavement certificate. He arrived wearing a suit and tie, with his hair cut short.
"The ponytail and jeans are what I wore in the 1970s. That's when my wife died, and I have been stuck back there ever since," he explained. "But because of this program, I have been enabled to heal that wound at a very deep level."
Michael went on to further his education in psychology and currently is pursuing a doctorate.
Every student has a story. Every student has a need for healing, be it of body, mind, soul or spirit. Every student has the opportunity to confront his or her vulnerability. Every student has a gift and a mission which need only to be unwrapped and shared.
(Sister Jean heads the bereavement program at Maria College. See www.mariacollege.edu.)[[In-content Ad]]
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