C-CAT presents The Impact of Dementia: Grief and loss experiences of adult children and caretakers. This is part of a growing death education series presented by the Center for Counseling and Applied Thanatology.

Grief and loss are not exclusive to death-related experiences. Grief can result from job loss, loss of purpose, loss of hope, etc. In my work, the focus is in engaging with the grief process, regardless of what was lost. Two important, scientifically backed processes are ones I return to again and again: (1) the dual-process model of grief, and (2) continuing bonds. The dual-process model is about the importance of making time for both emotional and practical parts of grief. We cannot focus on completing one before doing the other. Continuing bonds is about creating rituals of connection, whether that connection is physical, like an object, or a sense of learning or accomplishment.

Kendra is co-presenting at the Counselors for Social Justice Conference in April 2025. Her presentation focuses on the role of cycling hormones and their impact on mood, attention, cognition, and the counseling process itself.