It Hurts When They Leave:
Stages of Foster Parent Grief

Presented by Carol Wheat, Pederson-Krag Center
NYS Citizens' Coalition for Children, Inc.
13th Annual Statewide Adoption Training Conference
Adoption 2002: Linking Promises to Possibilities
May 11, 2002 • Albany New York  

 

WORKSHOP OUTLINE

 

LOSS

How do we identify loss experiences in our lives?
How do we respond to those losses in stages of grieving?
What are our most successful coping mechanisms?
How do we find meaning in these losses, or learn and grow through them?

 

TYPES OF LOSS

Obvious: losses that people in general might experience
Not-So-Obvious: less noticeable and may not evoke the same sympathy and support from others
Maturational: losses due to age
Limbo: Losses that don't seem to get resolved

STAGES OF GRIEF*

Shock
Panic
Denial
Release
Guilt
Anger
Depression
Returning
Hope
Acceptance

*from Windows, Healing and Helping through Loss, Mary Joe Hannaford and Michael Popkin

TYPES OF GRIEF

Unresolved
Anniversary
Residual
Accumulated
Anticipatory
Disenfranchised

COPING

Effective
Destructive

FINDING MEANING IN LOSS

While there are many losses in foster care, there are gains, too!
What have you gained?

 

6/25/02