“That Discomfort You’re Feeling is Grief”
by Scott Berinato and published by the Harvard Business Review
As an introduction to next Thursday’s video, “Why Do I Want to Stop, Drop and Roll (into a Ball and Back Under the Covers?”), this article, suggested by a fellow foster parent, really lays the ground work for what many of us (okay all us) are experiencing. Often under-looked (not overlooked because we don’t even see it), are the losses and griefs associated with the Covid-19 challenge experienced by us all, collectively and individually. While not often recognized and even less often discussed aloud, this situation we find ourselves in (with no advanced warning or training manual!) is impacting our most important and intimate relationships as well as our relationship with ourselves. And this matters, now and long into the future.
In the article, Berinato interviews David Kessler, the world’s foremost expert on grief who has worked extensively with Elizabeth Ku¨bler-Ross and is the founder of www.grief.com. He addressed different types of loss and grief, stages and progression and uniqueness to the grief associated with the Covid-19 situation and a couple of ideas to begin understanding and managing the thoughts and feelings you may be experiencing.
In next Thursday’s video, I will be building off of Kessler’s article, drawing down to some specific situations that are more likely impacting foster and adoptive families with children who have experienced other personal and painful losses. We will look at how that history may be complicating your home life during this already confusing and upended time and ways to help navigate and soften the impact for everyone in your home.
Anne Zink joined the Coalition in 2015 as the Director of Family Support. She manages the Family Works Program. Anne has 35 years of experience. Her certifications include: Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), Triple P® Positive Parenting Trainer, Batterer’s Intervention Trainer, Training for Adoption Competency (TAC), STARS Trainer, and Nurturing Parenting Program™ Trainer.