Cruse Bereavement Care National Conference 2008
"Perspectives on Grief"
Leicester University, September 18-20

Key speakers' presentations:

Resilient children
Promoting continuing bonds and curious conversations
Julie Stokes, OBE
Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Vice Chair of The Childhood Bereavement Network, founder of Winston’s Wish and resident psychologist throughout Channel 4’s The Mummy Diaries  

Enabling dying at home
Professor David Taylor
Professor of Pharmaceutical and Public Health Policy at the School of Pharmacy, University of London, who led the research behind Marie Curie’s campaign Supporting the choice to die at home 

Bereavement and learning disabilities
Dame Jo Williams, DBE, and Leroy Binns
Dame Jo, outgoing Chief Executive of Mencap, member of the National Learning Disability Taskforce, and named the most influential person in social care by Community Care magazine, presented the talk jointly with Leroy Binns.

People with a learning disability are often excluded from the processes surrounding death. Assumptions are made about their ability / inability to cope with death and bereavement. During the session Leroy, who has a learning disability, and Dame Jo, explored some of the issues.

Leroy has worked with Mencap for nine years on campaigns and policy, and he is passionate about campaigning for the rights of people with profound and multiple learning difficulties. He shared some of his personal experiences. Dame Jo described the organisation’s work, the challenges facing people with a learning disability and suggested some possible ways that Cruse could support them. She has been named as one of the first three commissioners for the health and social care watchdog, the Care Quality Commission.

Disability, abuse and loss
Dr Valerie Sinason
Valerie Sinason is an Adult Psychoanalyst and Child Psychotherapist, currently Director of the Clinic for Dissociative Studies 

Does mourning end?
Professor Darian Leader
Darian Leader is President of the College of Psychoanalysts-UK and a founder member of the Centre for Freudian Analysis and Research (CFAR) in London. He is the author of the bestselling book "The New Black: Mourning, Melancholia and Depression"

Workshops included:
Anticipatory Grief with Nikki Archer

Reporting from the Cruse Bereavement Care National Conference, September 2007
"A very enjoyable three days"

See our earlier conferences

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