Helping Children Heal in a New Era of Grief

The Center for Health and Health Care in Schools, in partnership with the Wendt Center, is offering a training on facilitating school-based groups for children and youth who have experienced grief, loss, and trauma to members of our DC School Behavioral Health Community of Practice (DC CoP).

January 16th from 9:30am-1:00pm ET

Helping Children and Youth Heal in a New Era of Grief

Children and adolescents are impacted by grief at astounding numbers. Recent data estimates that over 200,000 children have experienced the death of a caregiver due to COVID. And we know that many more have experienced caregiver death due to other illness, accidents and community violence. The prior school-year saw a significant increase in the number of children/adolescents reporting the death of someone important to them. We know grief has entered schools in record numbers. And, when a child or adolescent experiences the death of someone important, their entire world is impacted, and important questions can surface. Who will take care of me? Will I remember this person? Why did this happen?

Adults who understand the developmental impact of grief and can provide appropriate support are central to the healing process in children and adolescents.

The training will be offered in three connected parts (1A, 1B and 1C), each segment taking 3.5 hours and each qualifying for 3 CEs

Instructor: Melissa Sellevaag, LICSW

Melissa Sellevaag, LICSW is currently the Director of Training and Education at the Wendt Center for Loss and Healing. She is responsible for designing and implementing training curricula focused on the intersection of grief and trauma to expand the communities capacity to witness, support and tend to grief . Additionally, Melissa oversees the crisis response program for the Wendt Center which provides support to schools, agencies, and businesses in the wake of tragic events.  

Melissa has over twenty years of experience providing direct services to individuals, families and youth. Melissa has developed, implemented and supervised innovative community-based trauma-informed programming aimed at reducing the barriers to stability and wellness. 

She holds a MA in Counseling from Marist College and a MSW from Catholic University. She is a licensed clinical social worker in Washington, DC where she lives with her husband, two children and cat.

CEs: 3 CEs

Questions: Call Melissa Sellevaag, LICSW, 202-204-5033 or email Training@wendtcenter.org

Additional Information:

This workshop is a live, interactive webinar with video and audio capabilities enabled for both participants and instructors. Participants will have the ability to comment and ask questions both verbally and in the chat feature and will receive real-time communication from the instructor or co-facilitator in response. The instructor will frequently invite engagement from participants through use of the chat, reactions, and/or poll features.

Target Audience:

Licensed mental health professionals and other school staff or administration where relevant.

Workshop Agenda:

Introductions and setting the stage – 10 minutes

Overview of Grief in Children – 90 minutes

Break – 10 minutes

Support for the Healing Journey – 90 minutes

Questions and evaluations – 10 minutes

Learning Objectives:

After attending this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Define and differentiate between loss, grief, and traumatic grief as it pertains to children and adolescents.

2. Identify the impact and implications of grief and loss on childhood development.

3. Reinforce the adult world around children and provide opportunities for safety and stabilization.

General Course Information

Content Level for all Workshops: Intermediate

CE Information:

The Wendt Center for Loss and Healing, 1737, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. The Wendt Center for Loss and Healing maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: March 13, 2021 – March 13, 2024. Social workers completing this course receive 3 clinical continuing education credits.

Partial credit will not be given for this course. In order to receive a Continuing Education certificate, a participant must be present for the full length of the educational content of the session

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if the training is canceled?

In the event that a training needs to be canceled or postponed due to low enrollment or other unforeseen circumstances, participants will be notified and offered an alternate date.

What is your inclement weather policy?

The Wendt Center follows the Federal Government for all weather-related closures and delays – whether the training is in-person or virtual. In the event the Federal Government is closed due to weather, the training will be canceled and rescheduled. Participants will be offered a transfer of registration to the new date. If the Federal Government has a delayed opening the training will begin on time as scheduled. For virtual trainings where an attendee might be in a different geographical region than Washington, DC, please contact training@wendtcenter.org with any concerns related to inclement weather.

What are the requirements for completing this course?

At the beginning of the training, participants will complete a pre-test to measure learning. For in-person workshops, participants are required to attend for the entire duration of the workshop, signing in and out for the workshop and breaks. For virtual workshops, a facilitator(s) will complete a check-in process at the beginning of the workshop, and participants’ virtual presence in the workshop will be tracked by the Zoom report feature. After the workshop is completed, participants will be required to complete an evaluation and post-test.

What is the process for receiving my certificate?

Participants will receive a link for an evaluation and post-test by email within one hour of the workshop conclusion. Once participants have electronically completed their evaluation and post-test, they will be sent a certificate for continuing education units by email within two weeks of the workshop conclusion. Attendees will receive an immediate score on the post-test portion of the evaluation. A participant’s receipt of their certificate is not contingent upon achieving a particular score on their post-test.

How can I request a refund?

This course is provided free of charge to individual participants.

How do I request an accommodation?

Individuals needing special accommodations, please contact the Director of Training, Melissa Sellevaag at msellevaag@wendtcenter.org.

How can I file a complaint or grievance about the course or instructor?

The Wendt Center seeks to ensure equitable treatment of every person and to make every attempt to resolve grievances in a fair and transparent manner. Therefore, we are eager to address any refund requests, complaints about course content, speakers, facilities, non-receipt of certificates, and any other occurrences. To submit all other grievances, please send a written summary of the incident to Melissa Sellevaag, LICSW at msellevaag@wendtcenter.org. All grievances will be documented and actions taken to address any grievances will be recorded. These records can be made available to the ASWB ACE program for review upon request. Grievances will receive, to the best of our ability, corrective action in order to prevent further problems. A copy of this policy is available on promotional material and upon request.