UNE psychology students attend conference on childhood bereavement

Eleven students enrolled in this semester’s Psychology of Trauma course, taught by Linda Morrison, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Psychology, attended a conference on March 23, titled “Childhood Bereavement:  A Holistic Approach.”  The conference was held in Wells, Maine, and was sponsored by The Center for Grieving Children and York County Community College.  

Clinical psychologist and author Mary E. Plouffe, Ph.D., served as the plenary speaker and discussed her work, I Know It in My Heart: Walking through Grief with a Child (2017). Breakout sessions included topics such as children's understanding of suicide, expressive therapies for childhood grief, and loss and grief among refugee and immigrant children.  

Nick Sabato (Psychology, ’19) said that the conference enabled him to see more clearly the differences between the way children and adults process death. “As adults, we are able to see ourselves in the future without the person we have lost, but a child cannot cognitively do this,” he said. “They cannot imagine what life will be like in six months without the lost loved one." 

Sahra Hassan (Social and Cultural Studies, ’19) summed up a number of student attendees’ experiences:  " I learned that the power to help those around you and aid your clients in their recovery and treatment process is dependent on how well you take care of yourself,” she shared.  

Other UNE student attendees included Brianna Coviello, Emily Cote, Grace Farrington, Hannah Christian, Emily Mott, Marisa Massone, Rebecca Sherrier, Jillian Pattershall and Jasmine Dansereau.   

To learn more about the College of Arts and Sciences, visit www.une.edu/cas

To apply, visit www.une.edu/admissions