Keep checking for information on
Grief Institute 2025!
Tamarack Grief Resource Center and Hestia Advantage present
Grief Institute 2024
March 14-15, 2024
Missoula, MT or virtual
Grief Institute 2024
Date/Time: Thursday, March 14 (9:00am-4:30pm) - Friday, March 15 (9:00am-4:30pm)
Location: Missoula County Fairgrounds, Missoula, MT (also available virtually)
Continuing Education available: Board of Behavioral Health (BBH) and Office of Public Instruction (OPI)
Hotels:
TGRC has secured hotel room blocks at a discounted rate for this event! Please reach out with any questions and we'll do our best to assist.
The Wren Missoula
201 E. Main Street, Missoula, MT 59802
King Room: $149.00 + taxes and fees if booked by February 12
Book through THIS LINK or
Call (406) 401-4400 and mention "Grief Institute 2024 Room Block"
Available Wednesday, March 13 - Friday, March 15
Pricing:
One day: $100
Both days: $175
CEs: $50
Since 2005, Grief Institute has provided a top-quality, inspiring, and practical training for professional counselors, educators, hospice personnel, nurses and psychologists across Montana. Grief Institute is a two-day annual professional seminar committed to the continued advancement of knowledge and skills relating to end-of-life and grief to strengthen our state’s network of care. TGRC is committed to bringing the best-of-the-best to Missoula each year for Grief Institute — passionate, knowledgeable, engaging speakers who are able to blend research and ideas with practical tools all the while integrating personal stories, ethics, theory.
Schedule
Thurs, March 14: Professional Seminars @ Missoula County Fairgrounds, Home Arts Building, 9:00am-4:30pm - CEs available (BBH & OPI)
9:00-11:00 Suicide Prevention: Building Cultural Foundations in Systems of Care
Terrance Lafromboise, MSW-ITR
11:15-12:15 Finding Direction in Grief: The Compass As A Model
Dr. Bill Hoy, FT
12:15-1:15 LUNCH by local catering
1:15-4:30 Finding Direction in Grief: Rituals in End-of-Life and Grief Care
Dr. Bill Hoy, FT
Fri, March 15: Professional Seminars @ Missoula County Fairgrounds, Home Arts Building, 9:00am-4:30pm - CEs available (BBH & OPI)
9:00-12:15 Finding Direction in Grief: Impacts of Trauma on the Loss Experience, Pt. I
Dr. Bill Hoy, FT
12:15-1:15 LUNCH by local catering
1:15-2:15 Finding Direction in Grief: Impacts of Trauma on the Loss Experience, Pt. II
Dr. Bill Hoy, FT
2:30-3:30 The Other Side of ACEs: A Healing Framework for Indigenous Communities
Dr. Maegan Rides At The Door, LCPC
3:30-4:30 PANEL: Grief in Montana
moderated by Dr. Kimberly Parrow, LCPC + Dr. Tina Barrett, LCPC
More about the sessions:
Terrance Lafromboise, MSW-ITR:
Suicide Prevention: Building Cultural Foundations in Systems of Care (2 hours): This workshop is highlights best-practices in assessing, intervening, and supporting suicidal patients based on Indigenous cultural values and foundations along with westernized best practices such as WICHE’s Suicide Prevention Toolkit and the Zero Suicide Initiative. We'll cover national and Montana data and review risk assessment and screening tools including the PhQ-9, Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale, and ASQ. Key topics include the importance of Indigenous trauma-informed leadership, evidence-based practices, safety planning, lethal means counseling, and follow-up methods. Creating safe spaces within organizations, prioritizing healthy leadership, and understanding the communities served can lead to increased community engagement and support for those experiencing mental health crises.
Objectives. At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
Recognize historical, generational, and intergenerational trauma's impact
Foster an understanding of and connection to trauma-informed leadership
Understand the significance of screenings, suicide risk assessments, safety plans, lethal means awareness, and wrap-around services for supporting suicidal clients
Promote indigenous connection within health organizations
Prioritize individual body awareness during client crises
Dr. Bill Hoy, FT, Session 1:
Finding Direction in Grief: The Compass as A Model (1 hour): While people outside of our field commonly refer to “stages of grief,” most professionals and volunteers who care for the dying and bereaved realize there is really no such thing. Rather, grief is a process of integrating this loss into the rest of a person’s life. To do that effectively, most of us adapt to the loss in some predictable ways but we do so at our own pace and defined by our own personality and experience. If you’ve been searching for a way to understand the process of grief in a way that privileges the person’s own experience, Bill Hoy’s Compass Model is one way to do just that!
Objectives. At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
Describe the problems with views of grief commonly held in our death-avoiding society
Utilize a proven framework for understanding the grief experience and communicating with individuals following loss
Dr. Bill Hoy, FT, Session 2:
Ritual in End-of-Life and Grief Care (3 hours): In our presenter’s experience, commemorative events like funerals, memorial services, and celebrations of life serve to “jump start” the grief process for mourning families and communities. In both his clinical practice and his academic research, he has found great benefit to utilizing what he has come to call the five “anchors” of funeral ceremonies that unite humans across millennia and cross-culturally. In this interactive workshop, Dr. Bill Hoy will demonstrate how memorial events draw people together in the midst of profound sorrow to help them begin the process of integrating the loss into the rest of their lives. This seminar will be filled with practical, clinical tools care professionals can use in helping families and clients think about end-of-life and grief rituals at the bedside, through funerals/memorials, and in counseling with the bereaved.
Objectives. At the conclusion of this workshop, participants will be able to:
Describe common elements in death-related commemorative events
Explain the value of commemorative events in helping individuals grieve
Communicate with clients and patients about important funeral purchase options
Utilize principles for co-creating psychotherapeutic rituals in counselling with bereaved individuals and families
Dr. Bill Hoy, FT, Session 3:
Finding Direction in Grief: Impacts of Trauma on the Loss Experience (4 hours): Motor vehicle crashes, homicides, and suicides have important commonalities. Families must face their bereavement overshadowed by unanswered questions, police and medical examiner investigations, and often the criminal or civil judicial system. These factors can significantly complicate bereavement after trauma. In this fast-paced workshop, caregiving professionals are introduced to the complex issues in this kind of loss along with proven strategies for walking alongside bereaved individuals and families. Moreover, Bill Hoy and his wife Debbie talk intimately and personally of the impact on the family after traumatic loss, based on their experiences after Bill’s car crash that killed two friends in 2017.
Objectives. At the conclusion of this workshop, participants will be able to:
Apply an integrative approach to bereavement in unexpected death
Effectively assess the role trauma plays in the bereaved individual’s experience and the family system
Explain the impact of traumatic stress disorders (such as PTSD) on the bereavement process
Provide proven intervention strategies to help the patient/client/friend effectively integrate the loss into life
Dr. Maegan Rides At The Door:
The Other Side of ACEs: A Healing Framework for Indigenous Communities (1 hour): Many people have now learned about the landmark Adverse Childhood Experiences study and its results demonstrating the link between ACES and poorer health and mental health outcomes. After hearing about this information people often wonder, now what do we need to do to address ACEs on a community wide level? A public health framework to conceptualize next steps will provide a comprehensive community driven approach to advance healing.
Objectives. At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
Broaden existing trauma lenses to include cultural considerations of trauma and impacts of trauma
Increase a broader understanding of how we mitigate the impacts of trauma on a community wide level
Learn about the trauma foci areas that we can universalize to all children and families we connect with
Dr. Kimberly Parrow, LCPC and Dr. Tina Barrett, LCPC:
The Grief in Montana: An Interactive Panel (1 hour) will:
Illuminate distinct end-of-life and grief resources in Montana
Identify strengths and obstacles in implementing grief support to Montana community members.
Customize and develop action plans for implementing end-of-life and grief care to specific populations
More about the speakers:
Dr. Bill Hoy, FT
Over the last 40 years, Dr. William G. (Bill) Hoy has been walking alongside the dying, the bereaved, and the professionals and volunteers who care for them. Since 2012, he has served as Clinical Professor of Medical Humanities at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. He is widely regarded as an authority on the role of social support in death, dying and grief and his experience includes more than 20 years leading bereavement and pastoral care programs in hospice care. Though primarily a bedside clinician, Dr. Hoy has authored more than 200 articles and book chapters as well as six books.
His books in print include Do Funerals Matter? The Purposes and Practices of Death Rituals in Global Perspective (Routledge, 2013) and Bereavement Groups and the Role of Social Support: Integrating Theory, Research, and Practice (Routledge, 2016). His newest volume do for release by Routledge later this year is entitled Creating Meaning in Funerals: How Families and Communities Make Sense of Death. In addition to his role with students at Baylor, he is a frequent presenter among groups of professional colleagues in health care across the United States and Canada.
Dr. Hoy is active in the Association for Death Education & Counseling on whose board he served from 2012 to 2020 including six years as an officer. He also holds an advisory position and is a frequent program contributor for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) and the Hospice Foundation of America, both located in Washington, DC.
Terrance Lafromboise, MSW-ITR
Terrence Lafromboise, also known as IissiiksaakoomApaapooma (Entering thunders lodge), is an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Nation. A graduate from the University of Toronto, he holds a Master's in social work with emphasis in Indigenous Trauma and Resiliency from the Factor of Inwentash School of Social Work.
Previously serving as the coordinator for the Zero Suicide Grant Program at the State of Montana Public Health and Human Services, Behavioral Health Disabilities Division, Terrence has transitioned into a role as a mental health consultant and trauma counselor. He utilizes cultural values and foundations to bridge clinical practices, effectively meeting the unique needs of Indigenous communities.
With a career dedicated to suicide prevention in Indigenous communities, he brings expertise as a mental health consultant, youth coach & mentor, and community advocate. Terrence's work, is rooted in Piikanipaitapiisinii (Blackfeet way of life) and Niitsiipo”sin (Blackfeet-language), and blends traditional and contemporary approaches to address behavioral health issues in Indian Country. His efforts as a cultural preservationist and future therapist aim to connect, teach, and create space by providing ceremonies for those who have never been connected, fostering a practice of belonging and healing.
Dr. Maegan Rides At The Door, LCPC
Dr. Maegan Rides At The Door, LCPC (sher/her) serves as the Executive Director of the University of Montana National Native Children’s Trauma Center in Missoula, MT where she works to co-facilitate trauma-focused healing in tribal communities. Maegan utilizes her knowledge in culturally trauma responsive care to provide training and technical assistance with a wide variety of systems of care including but not limited to schools, child welfare, juvenile justice, and healthcare. Maegan engages in many other activities (not all at the same time J) including teaching, counseling, grant peer reviewing, serving on community boards, and beading/jewelry making. In her free time, she likes spending time with her family (husband, daughter, and miniature Chihuahua) and friends attending concerts, sporting and cultural events, running local races, vendoring at events, and traveling as much as possible. She carries a Blackfeet name by marriage but is an enrolled member of the Fort Peck Sioux and Assiniboine Tribes and a descendant of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma.
Dr. Kimberly Parrow, LCPC
Dr. Kimberly Parrow’s research, professional work, writing, and teaching interests lie at the heart of human interaction, “The Relationship”. She is a licensed professional clinical counselor, certified clinical trauma professional, grief specialist, EMDR-trained clinician, and Gottman Method couples therapist. Kim has extensive experience working with individuals, couples, and families faced with both welcomed and unwelcomed relationship changes. Her combination of experience, research, education, and training allow for a dynamic approach to supporting people as they learn to navigate and succeed in their pursuit of satisfying intimate relationships. Kim is a co-author of the "Intimate Relationships" textbook and she recently authored a text that guides professional caregivers through an evidence-based relational model of care, published in 2023.
Dr. Tina Barrett, LCPC
Dr. Tina Barrett, TGRC Co-founder and Executive Director, has specialized in strength-oriented care and fostering resilience following traumatic experiences and attachment breaks. A licensed clinical professional counselor, Barrett integrates stories and experiences from over 30 years of work in hospitals, schools, group homes, private practice, wilderness therapy, and nonprofit grief centers. Her commitment to excellence in grief and trauma care is matched by her profound commitment to healthy organizations and setting teams up for success. Barrett is the author of numerous chapters and articles and serves on the Leadership Team for Project Tomorrow and the Advisory Board for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors. She was recognized as the 2019 Community Educator by the Association of Death Educators and Counselors.
Thank you to our sponsors!
Thank You to our Partners & Sponsors!
Hestia Advantage - Presenting Sponsor
Partners in Home Care
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Montana Chapter
Missoula Public Health
Partners Hope Foundation
Monida Healthcare Network
Community Medical Center
United Way of Missoula County - Project Tomorrow Montana
Montana Department of Health and Human Services
Missoula County Fairgrounds
Previous speakers have included:
2023 – Illuminating Montana Voices
Day 1: Tina Barrett, EdD, LCPC - The Dirt on Grief: Supporting Others, Supporting Ourselves; Sienna Speicher, MA, LCPC - Supporting Native Youth and Families; Daniel Salois, PhD, LCPC - Expanding Strengths-based Suicide Assessment: Illuminating Life Dimensions and Grief
Day 2: Kimberly Parrow, PhD, LCPC - Repairing Relationships: Supporting Couples, Families, and Systems in the Aftermath of Grief; Melanie Trost, PhD, LCSW, CT - Mindful Practices: End-of-Life and Grief Care; Jacob Hansen, MA, LCPC - Panel: The State of Grief in Montana
2022 – Tashel Bordere, PhD, LCPC – Being A Caring Presence: Cultural Humility & Grief
Day 1: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Trauma & Grief Care
Day 2: Non-death and Ambiguous Losses
2021 – J. Eric Gentry, PhD – Trauma Competency: Facing Forward
2020 – Dr. Robert Neimeyer – Grief and the Quest for Meaning
Day 1: Trauma-Informed Interventions
Day 2: Attachment-Informed Interventions
2019 –
Day 1: Donna Schuurman, EdD, FT – Facilitating Positive Outcomes for Grieving Youth
Day 2: Harold Ivan Smith, MA, EdS, FT – Rethinking Ritual: Pausing to Honor Life & Loss
2018 – Pamela Gabby, EdD, FT and Andy McNiel, MA
Day 1: Death & Dying: Strengthening Families Throughout the Journey
Day 2: Bereavement & Post-Traumatic Growth: Modes of Helping After Tragedy
2017 –
Day 1: Tashel Bordere, PhD – To Look at Death Another Way: Individual, Community, and Cultural Factors that Facilitate Resilience through Loss
Day 2: Ben Wolfe, M.Ed, LICSW, FT – Stories, Icebergs, and Family Mobiles: Helping Others As We Help Ourselves
2016 –
Day 1: Jack Jordan, PhD – Suicide Bereavement Clinician Training
Day 2: Alesia K. Alexander, MSW – Creative and Inclusive Approaches to Grief
2015 – John Sommers-Flanagan, PhD
Day 1: Suicide Assessment, Intervention, and Care
Day 2: Social, Emotional, and Cultural Dimensions of Grief
2014 – J. Eric Gentry, PhD
Days 1 & 2: Trauma Practice: Tools for Stabilization and Recovery
Day 3: Professional Resiliency: Fitness for the Frontline
2013 – Jack Jordan, PhD
Day 1: Devastating Losses: New Understandings, New Directions and
Day 2: Grief After Suicide: Understanding Consequences & Caring for Survivors
2012 – Heidi Horsley, PsyD, LCSW – Open to Hope: Grief Following Trauma and Tragedy
2011 – Robert Neimeyer, PhD – Lessons of Loss: Working with Complicated Grief
2010 – Tom Attig, PhD – The Heart of Grief: Theory and Practice Revisited
2009 – Tina Barrett, EdD, LCPC
Day 1: The Dirt on Grief: Nature-Based Programs and Rituals
Day 2: Grief in Schools
2008 – Donna Schuurman, PhD – Children and Grief
2007 – Ken Doka, PhD – Gender Styles and Grief
2006 – Robert Zucker, MA, LCSW – Meaning Reconstruction and Grief
2005 – Jennifer Elison, EdD, LCPC – Liberating Losses: When Death Brings Relief
