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#BereaveWithMe Conference
The Journey of Grief Healing Through Mind, Body & Spirit
Aditi Loveridge
(she/her)
Founder and CEO of pilsc.org
Danyelle Kaluski
(she/her)
Co-founder and DOO of pilsc.org
Jason Dykstra
(he/him)
Certified in Conflict Management
Michelle Robinson
(she/her/they/them)
Land acknowledgemenet ceremony host
Kendra Scurfield
(she/her)
Presenter, Marketer, Writer and working mom
Dr. Linita Mathew
(she/her)
Doctor, Mental health teacher, Reiki Master
Marie-Claire O'Donoghue
(she/her)
Canadian Certified Counsellor & Dance/Movement Therapist
Jennifer Hammer
(she/her)
Support Group Specialist
Annie Hussain
(she/her)
Master’s degree in Creative Arts Therapy
Elise Brathwaite
(she/her)
Master’s degree in Creative Arts Therapy
Nov
Your are invited to join
The #BereaveWithMe Conference
The Journey of Grief Healing Through Mind, Body & Spirit
- Saturday, November 26th | 8am - 4:30pm MST
- LIVE In Person
About the Event
The PILSC Annual #BereaveWithMe Conference is a one-day conference that introduces a range of speakers offering a variety of insights through experiences, guidance, and healing workshops. This event is an opportunity for individuals and supports people who are navigating grief of any kind, to connect and begin to explore what healing through loss can look like through MIND, BODY, and SPIRIT.
Grief is a journey and you are not alone
The way one grieves is unique to them. There is no right way or particular steps or order. Grief is a journey and you are not alone. Join our conference live on November 26th, in Calgary, Canada where we focus on The Journey of Healing through Mind, Body and Spirit. This is an opportunity to explore what healing through loss can look like through MIND, BODY, and SPIRIT.
Who is this conference for? Adults who have experienced loss and grief of any kind
Find us on Facebook and Instagram to send us a message or contact us here
Brought to you by Title Sponsor Mayfair Diagnostics
Keynote speakers
Aditi Loveridge (she/her) – Founder & CEO of Pregnancy, Infant & Child Loss Support Centre
From navigating her own grief journey and supporting hundreds of families through theirs, Aditi Loveridge knows firsthand the power in connection to self, especially during times of loss and grief. In this candid and honest keynote session, Aditi will share how you can begin to access this vital key to unlock your own healing.
Learn more about Aditi at aditiloveridge.com
Jason Dykstra (he/him) – Pregnancy & Infant Loss Coach
Jason is a coach, mediator, and teacher that speaks and works with groups across North America. Your pulse might quicken when you hear that Jason helps guide people (and groups) through conflict and grief. Those topics typically make people uncomfortable, but take a breath and slow your heart rate, because Jason is going to help you get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Learn more about Jason at jasondyk.com
MC and Special Guests
Danyelle Kaluski (she/her) – Co-founder & DOO of the Pregnancy, Infant & Child Loss Support Centre
Through the loss of her second daughter, Emelina in 2012, at 38 weeks, Danyelle has been active in normalizing the journey of pregnancy loss, grieving and pregnancy after loss in her social network. Danyelle is excited to be part of an organization that will provide much-needed support to the community and advocate for the healing of families.
Kendra Scurfield (she/her) – Professional Presenter, Marketer, Writer and Working mom
By day she is the Brand Director for Banff Sunshine Village- the Canadian Rockies leading ski and snowboard resort. No stranger to grief, Kendra suffered pregnancy loss prior to welcoming her son. As a professional communicator, Kendra masked up and pretended everything was OK to hide her pain. In the depth of her sorrow, Kendra took to writing as a tool to process and heal from her grief. A survivor, Kendra believes in never giving up on your dream.
You can engage with Kendra on her Instagram
Michelle Robinson (she/her/they/them) – Land acknowledgement ceremony host
Michelle goes by Red Thunderwoman. Her colonial name is Michelle Robinson. She is a Sahtu Dene, a mother, wife, activist, political organizer, podcast host and have “Indian Status” imposed by the Canadian Government. She has been involved in the political world on the federal, provincial and municipal levels. She was the first First Nations woman to run for Calgary City Council, and she ran to be a provincial MLA. She has also been a very active volunteer for numerous non profit events and organizations, school, community events, and politics at the federal level.
Learn more about Michelle at nativecalgarian.com
Workshop Facilitators
Marie-Claire O’Donoghue (she/her) – Canadian Certified Counsellor and Dance/Movement Therapist intern
Marie-Claire is a Professional Member of the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association (CCC certification pending) and a Dance/Movement Therapist Intern. She believes in bringing Dance/Movement Therapy to individuals and communities with the intention of supporting wellness, self-understanding, and wholeness.
Learn more about Marie-Claire at her website
Jennifer Hammer (she/her) – Intuitive Mentor, Master Coach
Jennifer Hammer (she/her) is an intuitive mentor, Master Coach and a sacred rites of passage leader. In her work, she offers private and group coaching, helping individuals navigate the terrain of anxiety, explore their inner landscapes and step into the mysteries. Using an integrative approach, she combines somatic and energetic healing, emotional mastery and subconscious reprogramming.
Learn more about Jennifer at sacrednest.ca
Annie Hussain (she/her) – Creative Arts Therapist
Annie is a professionally trained and culturally sensitive Art Therapist who wholeheartedly believes in the life-changing magic of art making. Through her personal experiences of making art as well as through her work with clients, she is a witness to how creative expression can create and hold a sacred space for individuals to develop self-awareness, express otherwise hard to verbalize feelings, and explore new ways of being.
Learn more about Annie at anniearttherapy.com
Dr. Linita Eapen Mathew (she/her) – Secondary English Language Arts and Mental Health Support Teacher
Dr Linita Eapen Mathew (Ed.D., M.Ed., B.Ed., B.A) obtained her Doctor of Education from the University of Calgary, writing an autoethnographic dissertation that explored the effect of storytelling on bereavement. She received the Canadian Association of Teacher Education (2021) thesis and dissertation award for her work’s contribution to teacher education. Using her skills and expertise for service, she created and led numerous Grief and Writing Through Grief workshops for educators and bereavement support centers across North America. Apart from being an educator, she is a writer at heart and has released two books based on her doctoral dissertation: Life: To Be Given Back Again to Whence It Came and the companion stories The Revelations of Eapen.
Visit Dr. Linita at diopress.com/life
Elise Brathwaite (she/her) – Sacred Leadership Spiritual Healer and Intuitive Life Coach
As a full-fledged Aquarian, Elise is passionate about supporting the evolution of humanity! She is a Clairvoyant Modern Day Oracle, a Soul Speaker, and Sage. Through her connection to the Divine, she channels past life healing, DNA activations, and messages from Galactic Source to help individuals and groups release old limiting programming and in turn shift into higher consciousness. By awakening the memory of who we really are and clearing the DNA, we support the physical body in holding more light energy which assists in the accelerated ascension of ourselves and our Earth Mother!
Learn more about Elise at elisebrathwaite.com
Conference Agenda
Conference Start
Registration Open/Coffee & Connection
8:00 – 8:45 am
Doors Open
8:45 – 9:00 am
Welcome and Opening Remarks by Aditi Loveridge (she/her) and Danyelle Kaluski (she/her)
9:00 – 9:30 am
Room 1050
Land acknowledgement ceremonies by Michelle Robinson (she/her/they/them)
Room 1050
Keynote
Keynote by Aditi Loveridge (she/her)
Unlock healing: You are the key
From navigating her own grief journey and supporting hundreds of families through theirs, Aditi Loveridge knows firsthand the power in connection to self, especially during times of loss and grief. In this candid and honest keynote session, Aditi will share how you can begin to access this vital key to unlock your own healing.
9:30 – 10:30 am
Room 1050
Break – Coffee, refreshments and connection
10:30 – 10:45 am
Mind Workshops
Workshop by Jason Dykstra (he/him)
First Comes Loss, Then Comes Anxiety
After we experience loss, one of the natural and common reactions/symptoms is anxiety. In this interactive workshop, we will explore what anxiety looks like, feels like, and acts like and what we can do to minimize and journey with that anxiety.
10:45 – 11:30 am
Room 1060
Workshop by Marie-Claire O’Donoghue (she/her)
Moving With Grief
In this movement based workshop, participants will experience what it is like to move with grief in an embodied way. By connecting with the body, we are able to perceive experiences from a new lens. By using dance and movement participants will get a chance to connect with others, express themselves, and perhaps even make discoveries about their experiences that were previously unknown. With an emphasis on ‘unsticking’ some of the heavier parts of grief and learning how these emotions move, this workshop will focus on how movement can often offer a new layer of support to challenging experiences.
10:45 – 11:30 am
Room 1040
Lunch
Lunch to be served
11:30 – 12:15 pm
Room 1050
Keynote
Keynote by Jason Dykstra (he/him)
Keep Going, Don’t Stop (And other lies I’ve told myself)
When you are in pain or dealing with grief and loss, how do you respond? If you’re like most people, you’ll shove all those uncomfortable and painful feelings under the carpet. In this Keynote session, Jason will talk about his experiences with loss, how grief impacted him, and how he journeyed through the intersection of love and loss.
12:20 – 1:20 pm
Room 1050
Break – Coffee, refreshments and connection
1:20 – 1:30 pm
Body Workshops
Workshop by Jennifer Hammer (she/her)
Healing with Breath
The healing journey and somatic work are not linear. Grief moves in waves, it ebbs and flows through us, each time offering us opportunities to shift its energy. We will use our breath to gently guide us into the body as we honour our grief, individually and collectively. We will tune into how grief shows up in our bodies and learn how to embrace it with love.
1:30 – 2:15 pm
Room 1040
Workshop by Annie Hussain (she/her)
The Art of Healing
Art has the power to explore grief visually, helping us lean into, learn from, and move through the feelings rather than be stuck in them. Join Annie for this informative session on how art and grief can come together as a healing force in bereavement work, while enjoying the opportunity to dive into the creative process.
1:30 – 2:15 pm
Room 1060
Break – Coffee, refreshments and connection
2:15 – 2:30 pm
Community Connection
Facilitated by Danyelle Kaluski (she/her)
Time to connect with other members of the bereaved community. There will be multiple activities to choose from during this time.
2:30 – 3:00 pm
Room 1050
Spirit Workshops
Workshop by Dr. Linita Eapen Mathew (she/her)
Writing Through our Losses
This workshop demonstrates the power of Expressive Storytelling as a tool to process the pain of death and non-death losses. Through the art of structured storytelling, attendees will use a narrative sequence that targets traumatic and unprocessed parts of their grief story, permitting an intentional witnessing and release. The Expressive Storytelling technique emerges from the exhibitor’s personal experience with death loss combined with the latest research on grief, trauma, brain health, and reconciling loss. The aim is to allow our collective grief stories to find air and breathe.
3:10 – 4:20 pm
Room 1060
Workshop by Elise Brathwaite (she/her)
Love that flows through Grief
In this Energy Clearing we will clear the channels of grief, by acknowledging how they arrived and why we struggle to release them, so we can restore our pathways to Love.
3:10 – 4:20 pm
Room 1040
Closing Remarks
Closing Remarks by Aditi Loveridge (she/her) and Danyelle Kaluski (she/her)
4:20 – 4:30 pm
Room 1050
We are dedicated to supporting individuals of all faiths, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and gender identities. In the spirit of reconciliation, we acknowledge that we live, work and play on the traditional territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksika, Kainai, Piikani), the Tsuut’ina, the Îyâxe Nakoda Nations, the Métis Nation (Region 3), and all people who make their homes in the Treaty 7 region of Southern Alberta.