How current losses remind us of previous ones
It is an important feature of loss and bereavement that the current situation will remind us powerfully of earlier losses. It is as though old wounds can re-open, making the …
Course: Grief, Loss, and Dying During COVID-19
Meeting Through Glass
This clip shows the way a Dutch care home has attempted to allow families to reunite in a glass pod. Keeping in mind the scene depicted by the poem you …
Introduction to thinking about loss, death and dying
Over the next few steps, we will think about how we understand the processes of loss and bereavement, and how these processes have been written and talked about by experts …
The Pause
In this moving video, staff members deliberately take stock after the death of a patient. That this is such a notable change of gear, one which we may expect to …
A quick guide to Week 1
Week 1 begins with a step about our fear of death, then continues by introducing some important ways of thinking about our responses to loss, bereavement and death. You will …
A good enough death?
In the words of Dame Cicely Saunders, founder of the modern day hospice movement, ‘How people die remains in the memory of those who live on’. Considerable effort has been …
Inside a Coronavirus Intensive Care Unit
The short video covers: The atmosphere of medical crisis The anxieties and fears of staff The sense of ‘duty’ that makes them keep working The lack of resources to treat …
The Stages of Grief – Some misconceptions about Kübler-Ross’s work
Elizabeth Kübler-Ross said: The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not ‘get over’ the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You …
How COVID-19 is impacting black people disproportionately
Reflecting on the video The video discusses the disproportionate impact of the virus on black communities in the USA. In your country, do you believe the same is true? You …
Sharna’s reflective practice
In this video Sharna contrasts allowing time to sit with confused responses to the work with a more detached outlook that can be the norm in medical and care settings. …
Final thoughts from Sharna
In this last video, Sharna says she’s still working on her attitude towards and feelings about death. She says that her confusion may partly stem from the fact that she …
Making space: the impact of the work on the staff member.
In this video, Sharna describes how the death of her patient brought to mind previous losses. Notice how the realisation of this required time and space to reflect, and a …
Learning with us
Taking care of yourself This course is about loss, the ways we cope with upheaval and how we can find meaning throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. These are emotive topics. You …
How are you feeling? It depends who’s asking
In this video Sharna describes the unique position of the social worker. Not the same as a doctor or nurse, who patients may expect to be interested only in their …
Home, family and a particular culture of care
We know that care homes have been pivotal during the pandemic. Let’s hear from Dr Katharine Scanlan about her research into end of life care in care homes. My research …