Pregnancy & Infant Loss Support Centre

Pregnancy & Infant Loss

Support Centre

#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

Starts In

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Holiday Season Day Retreat!

As the holidays approach, take a pause for yourself. 

Our day retreat offers a sacred space for connection, ritual-making, and personal reflection. Together, we’ll explore the importance of honoring our losses while navigating the season’s challenges.

This special event aims to raise vital funds to keep the Pregnancy & Infant Loss Support services at no cost.

Book with Erin Winters

In order to book with Erin, please contact us at info@pilsc.org

NOTE: Refrain from providing detailed personal information when emailing us. Feel free to describe your challenges in brief, and leave out personal details that you only wish to share with Erin.