The Role of Near-Death and Related Experiences
in Grief and Grief Counseling
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The 2023 IANDS Spring Symposium will address the topic of the role of near-death experiences and related experiences in grief and grief counseling. The event will be online on Saturday, April 22, from 11:00 AM to 5:30 PM Eastern time. Speakers and topics will be:
- Noelle St. Germain-Sehr, PhD: Evolving Perspectives on Grief and Grief Counseling
- Ryan Foster, PhD: The Role of Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) in Grief and Grief Counseling
- Karen Wyatt, MD: The Role of End-of-Life Experiences in Grief and Grief Counseling
- William Peters, MA, MEd, MFT: The Role of Shared Death Experiences (SDEs) in Grief and Grief Counseling
- Noelle St. Germain-Sehr, PhD: The Role of After-Death Communication (ADC) in Grief and Grief Counseling
- Panel discussion among the four speakers and Q&A with Symposium attendees
In addition to learning about the most current research on these topics from our esteemed speakers, attendees will also see several recorded interviews with experiencers, including:
- Suzanne Giesemann describing the role of ADC in her grief for the passing of her step-daughter.
- Mary Neal, MD, describing the role of her NDE in her grief for the passing of her eldest son.
- Brian D. Smith describing the role of ADC in his grief following the passing of his daughter.
Cost for the Symposium will be:
- $95 for non-IANDS members,
- $60 for IANDS members, and
- $30 for students with proof of student ID.
Thanks to IANDS’s partnership with the Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling, a division of the American Counseling Association, Licensed Counselors can receive 5.5 CEs from the National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC). Social workers also may earn 5.5 CE contact hours from the National Association of Social Workers, and the Symposium Planning Committee has applied for 5.5 CNE for nurses.
Saturday, Apr. 22, 2023
COURSE AND CONTINUING EDUCATION
Registration includes course and continuing education (CE) for those professionals listed below who wish to receive it. Professionals seeking CE must:
- Indicate on your registration form your desire to receive CE in one or more professional categories (see below),
- Attend all scheduled presentations,
- Sign in at the beginning, and out at the end, of each session, using the Zoom Chat as instructed at start of Symposium, and
- Following the conference, complete and submit
- Answers to multiple-choice items covering Symposium content, and
- An evaluation of the conference.
Within one week after the Symposium, we will contact you to provide you with the computer links to the items and evaluation. You will have two weeks to complete the items and evaluation. Within one week of your completion of the items and evaluation, the course or CE provider will email you a PDF Certificate as an attachment that you will be able to save and/ or print.
Professional categories:
Counselors: Receive up to 5.5 Continuing Education Hours (CE) in Wellness and Prevention. The Association for Spiritual, Ethical, and Religious Values in Counseling (ASERVIC) has been approved by NBCC as a continuing education provider, ACEP No. 1010. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC are clearly identified. ASERVIC is solely responsible for all aspects of the program. For more information about ASERVIC webinars and CE hours, visit www.aservic.org or contact president Dr. Jesse Fox at president@aservic.org.
Nurses: This activity has been submitted to Emergency Nurses Association for approval to award contact hours. Emergency Nurses Association is accredited as an approver of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
Social Workers: This program is Approved by the National Association of Social Workers (Approval # 886851476-4757) for 5.5 continuing education contact hours.
(Note: Social Work Licensure Boards in New Jersey, New York, and West Virginia do not recognize the NASW CE Approval.)
Other Professionals (including ACPE Certified Pastoral Educators, APC Certified Chaplains, and ACISTE Certified Professionals): IANDS will issue a Certificate of Completion for up to 5.5 hours of participation that you may use for continuing education. Contact your licensing and/or certifying entity(s) prior to Symposium registration to determine whether the entity will accept such a Certificate for continuing education.
2023 IANDS Symposium:
Presenters & Our Moderator
Noelle St. Germain-Sehr (she/they) is a Clinical Associate Professor and Counseling Clinical Experience Director in the Counseling Program at William & Mary. She earned a doctorate in 2003 and has 30 years of clinical experience. Dr. St. Germain-Sehr is a Licensed Professional Counselor Supervisor, a National Certified Counselor, and an ACISTE Certified Mental Health Professional trained to assist individuals with integrating spiritually transformative experiences. She has advanced training in transpersonal counseling, including Induced After-Death Communication (IADC®), is the Executive Director of The Center for Grief and Traumatic Loss and The International IADC® Board, and an IADC® Trainer. Dr. St. Germain-Sehr holds membership in 16 professional organizations, has served on three editorial boards, and has served in two regional counseling leadership positions. Her research focuses on improving mental health providers’ effectiveness in addressing transpersonal issues and includes multiple publications and over 50 professional presentations. Her website is https://education.wm.edu/ourfacultystaff/faculty/space/stgermainsehr_n.php
Evolving Perspectives on Grief and Grief Counseling
In this presentation, Dr. St. Germain-Sehr will describe the holistic features of grief. She will then review how Western models of grief have evolved, including from stages to tasks of grief and from breaking to continuing emotional bonds with the deceased person or animal. After discussing the relationship of grief to mental health, including both the evolution of the model of complicated grief to that of prolonged grief disorder and the potential for post-traumatic growth as an outcome of grief, Dr. St. Germain-Sehr will provide a brief overview of the current status of grief counseling.
Dr. Ryan Foster is an active researcher in the areas of humanistic sandtray therapy, transpersonal experiences, and contemporary issues in counselor education and supervision. He has co-authored a treatment manual on humanistic sandtray therapy (HST), a model of expressive arts counseling, and is engaged in multiple treatment outcome studies with children and adults. In addition, he has published quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods studies exploring the intersection of near-death experiences (NDEs) and counseling. Finally, Dr. Foster studies spontaneous mediumship experiences among NDErs.
The Role of Near-Death Experiences in Grief and Grief Counseling
In this presentation, Dr. Foster will first summarize what 45 years of research have revealed about the contents and aftereffects of near-death experiences (NDEs). Viewers will then hear from three people for whom NDEs played an important role in their grief following the physical death of a loved one. Dr. Foster will then conclude with what research has revealed about the role of NDEs in grief—including both having had an NDE prior to the loss as well as being a bereaved non-NDEr who learned about NDEs—as well as both research and clinical implications for grief counseling.
Dr. Karen Wyatt graduated from the University of New Mexico School of Medicine and completed Family Practice Residency and a Fellowship in Psychiatry at the University of Utah. She spent many years of her clinical career as a hospice medical director and has written extensively about end-of-life care, including the book 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying. She is passionate about helping people find meaning during the most difficult times of life.
Dr. Wyatt is a founding member of the Integral Health and Medicine Center where she has taught about the application of Integral Theory to medical care, particularly at the end of life. She also hosts End-of-Life University Podcast, which features interviews and conversations about all aspects of aging and the end-of-life. She has won numerous awards for her volunteer service including the Spirit of the American Woman Award and being named one of Utah’s 100 Notable Women.
The Role of End-of-Life Experiences in Grief and Grief Counseling
In this presentation, Dr. Wyatt will first differentiate end-of-life experiences (ELEs) from NDEs. She will then describe the six types of ELE and specify the types she will focus on in this presentation, including deathbed communication and terminal lucidity, along with examples from her clinical experience and research. Viewers will then hear from three people for whom witnessing the ELE of a dying loved one played an important role in their subsequent grief following the loved one’s physical death. Dr. Wyatt will then conclude with what research and her own clinical observations have revealed about the role of ELEs in survivors’ grief and clinical implications for grief counseling.
William Peters, MA, MEd, MFT, is the founder of the Shared Crossing Project whose mission is to positively transform relationships to death and dying through education and raising awareness about extraordinary end-of-life experiences (shared crossings) and their healing benefits. As the director of the Shared Crossing Research Initiative. William and his team collect and study shared crossings. William is a global leader in shared death studies and end-of-life phenomenon. He teaches methods to facilitate the shared death experience and to assist experiencers in meaningfully integrating their experiences. William is a psychotherapist and served as a hospice worker with Zen Hospice Project in San Francisco. His work is informed by his two NDEs and a variety of shared crossings. William’s work has appeared in the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine and in Omega – Journal of Death Studies. William’s book entitled At Heaven’s Door: What Shared Journeys to the Afterlife Teach About Dying Well and Living Better, is published by Simon & Schuster. For more information on William go to WilliamPeters.info or SharedCrossing.com.
The Role of Shared Death Experiences in Grief and Grief Counseling
In this presentation, Mr. Peters will define “shared death experience” (SDE), differentiate SDEs from NDEs and NDAs, and summarize what research has revealed about the contents and aftereffects of SDEs. Viewers will then hear from three people for whom SDEs played an important role in their grief following the physical death of a loved one. Mr. Peters will then conclude with what research has revealed about the role of SDEs in grief as well as both research and clinical implications for grief counseling.
Moderator: Speaker Panel and Q&A With Audience
Janice Miner Holden, EdD, LPC-S, ACMHP
After 31 years on the University of North Texas (UNT) Counseling Program faculty, Jan Holden retired in 2019 as Professor Emerita of Counseling. Beginning in 1988 with her doctoral dissertation, her primary research focus has been counseling implications of near- death and related experiences. In this research area she has over 50 refereed journal publications; several chapter and book publications, including lead editorship of the 2009 Handbook of Near-Death Experiences: Thirty Years of Investigation; and over 100 national and international presentations. Among Jan’s numerous recognitions is the 2019 UNT Eminent Faculty Award, one of the university’s highest honors. Since 2008 she has served as editor-in-chief of the International Association for Near-Death Studies’s scholarly Journal of Near-Death Studies, and she serves currently as that association’s President. Her website
is www.janholden.com.
In addition to learning about the most current research on these topics from our esteemed speakers, attendees will also see several recorded interviews with experiencers, including:
- Suzanne Giesemann describing the role of ADC in her grief for the passing of her step-daughter.
- Mary Neal, MD, describing the role of her NDE in her grief for the passing of her eldest son
- Brian D. Smith describing the role of ADC in his grief following the passing of his daughter.
Sponsors
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR NEAR-DEATH STUDIES
Founded in 1981, the International Association for Near-Death Studies, Inc. (IANDS) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. The organization is dedicated to encouraging scientific research, education, and support regarding the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual nature and ramifications of near-death and related experiences. IANDS associates comprise a broad audience from around the world including experiencers; researchers; medical, mental, social, and religious/spiritual healthcare professionals; educators; and the general public. For more information, or to become an IANDS member, visit iands.org
ASSOCIATION FOR SPIRITUAL, ETHICAL, AND RELIGIOUS VALUES IN COUNSELING
A division of the American Counseling Association, ASERVIC is an organization of counselors and human development professionals who believe spiritual, ethical, and religious values are essential to the oveall development of the person and are committed to integrating these values into the counseling process. It creates an environment that empowers and enables the expression, exploration, development, and research of evolving spiritual, ethical, and religious values as they relate to the person, to society, and to the profession of counseling and human development. For more information, or to join ASERVIC, visit aservic.org
AFFILIATES
GRIEF 2 GROWTH
SUZANNE GIESEMANN
HELPING PARENTS HEAL
The Annual Conference is Coming soon!
