Pet Bereavement

Often Pet Bereavement falls into the category of disenfranchised grief. Pet bereavement is felt differently by everybody, even those within the same household as our pets mean different things to each of us. However, grief, in all its forms, deserves compassion, consideration, and respect. This workshop will allow attendees an inclusive space to look at grief in a way that is reflective, congruent, and supportive of loss, hopefully giving rise to personal development. The workshop will look at pet/owner relationships and how the family grieves these relationships. The workshop will be both theoretical and experiential and will allow for discussion of the difficulties which arise in pet bereavement and loss.

Learning Outcomes

On completion of the workshop participants will be able to:

· describe the uniqueness that is pet bereavement

· identify the deep psychological distress of grief

· discuss compassion in a client led environment

· describe the importance of disenfranchised grief and how to sit in this space

· discuss the importance of Pet loss for the whole family

Presenter Profile

Kevin Smith works as a Psychotherapist. He runs clinics across north Dublin for adolescents and a Private Practice for both adult and adolescent clients. Kevin has researched bereavement and pet bereavement at length and facilitates Ireland's only Pet Bereavement Support group which has assisted both national and international client’s space to engage in their loss.

Kevin Smith