#BereaveWithMe Conference
The Journey of Healing through Mind, Body & Spirit
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.