(SU30) The Impact of Trauma: How Increasing Our Capacity to Mourn Supports Healing

The ongoing impact from the pandemic affects healthcare providers and staff and may show up in multiple areas including emotional, physical, and mental wellbeing. We are socialized to not express our grief and to “be strong” which is a potential barrier to bringing our full selves to our work. We may minimize mourning by offering advice or reassurance or changing the subject due to our own discomfort. Staff may not feel safe expressing their grief and may feel pressured, overtly or implicitly, to “just get over it.” Even if the culture is more receptive to mourning, there may not be a formal structure in place to acknowledge or support staff in their grief response. This session will familiarize participants with Nonviolent Communication empathy and mourning practices. Participants will experience peer support as we engage with interactive elements to increase our individual and collective capacity to mourn.