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Digital Seminar

Grief Therapy Demystified

An Evidence-Informed Roadmap for Clinicians

Speaker:
Christina Zampitella, PsyD, FT
Duration:
1 Hour 04 Minutes
Language:
Presented in EN, subtitles in EN and FR, handouts in EN and FR
Format:
Audio and Video
Copyright:
Apr 15, 2026
Product Code:
POS150659
Media Type:
Digital Seminar

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Description

Grief is a universal human experience, yet therapy with grieving clients may be too oversimplified. This training provides a roadmap for understanding what is needed for practical, empirically validated, and ethical grief therapy. It aims to help identify ways to support client’s healing narrative. Participants will learn barriers and red flags that may prolong the grieving process, learn when to take a more supportive versus directive approach, and assess client needs throughout the grieving process. The session also clarifies the differences between normative and prolonged grief trajectories. Identification of readiness for treatment termination will be explained. Finally, identification of ethical and self-awareness considerations will be addressed.

Credit

Handouts

Speaker

Christina Zampitella, PsyD, FT's Profile

Christina Zampitella, PsyD, FT Related seminars and products


Christina Zampitella, PsyD, FT is a licensed clinical psychologist, Fellow in Thanatology, and founder of the Center for Grief and Trauma Therapy. She serves as an adjunct professor and international professional speaker, with a particular passion for training and mentoring emerging mental health professionals. Dr. Zampitella is also the host of her podcast Phoenix Rising with Dr. Z.


Her clinical practice, research, course development, and teaching focus on bereavement studies, meaning reconstruction, nature-based therapy, and integrative psychology. She has served as Chair of the Continuing Education Committee for multiple professional organizations and is a faculty member at the Portland Institute for Loss and Transition, where she holds certifications in grief therapy through meaning reconstruction as well as in non-death losses within the meaning reconstruction framework.


Dr. Zampitella previously served as the resident psychologist for Channel 5 News in San Diego and has appeared on NBC News in both California and Delaware. Her work has been featured in Elle Magazine, BuzzFeed, The Huffington Post, The New York Post, and several Delaware publications.
 

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Christina Zampitella is the owner of The Center for Grief and Trauma Therapy and has an employment relationship with National University. She receives compensation as a presenter and receives a grant from Delaware Workforce Training. She receives speaking honorariums from TZK Seminars and eCare. She is the founder and host of Phoenix Rising with Dr. Z. She receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.

Non-financial: Christina Zampitella serves on the advisory committee for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors and the National University's Integrative Psychology Bachelor's Degree Program. She is a member of the American Psychological Association and the Delaware Psychological Association. She is a fellow with the Association for Death Education and Counseling.
 


Additional Info

Program Information

Access for Self-Study (Non-Interactive)

Access never expires for this product.


Questions?

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Objectives

  1. Differentiate differences between supportive and directive interventions in grief therapy.
  2. List three clinical red flags and barriers that may interfere with the grieving process.
  3. Identify how compassion fatigue may interfere with clinical work within the therapy room.

Outline

Foundational Concepts

  • Goal of grief therapy and the grief therapist
  • Changes in conceptualization of grieving process

The Therapist’s Role

  • Validate and witness the loss from a place of “not knowing”
  • Support and facilitate integration into client’s narrative
  • Strengthen coping and resilience without trying to “fix” it

Barriers and Red Flags

  • Risk factors
  • Disenfranchised grief
  • Cultural and spiritual misconceptions
  • Prolonged grief disorder

Assessing Client Needs

  • Early: Bracing and stabilization
  • Mid: Processing, narrative work
  • Later: Identity reconstruction, reinvestment
  • Dual process model of coping

Active vs. Passive Interventions

  • When to use different stances:
    • Supportive/passive: Listening, silence, validation, ‘companioning’
    • Active/directive: psychoeducation, integration of homework, trauma processing, rituals

Indicators Therapy May be Ready to Close

  • Intellectual and emotional acceptance of loss
  • Grief is no longer destabilizing
  • Re-engagement in life activities and development of aspirational goals
  • Ongoing bonds without overwhelming distress (if culturally appropriate)

Therapists’ Personal Takeaways

  • Recognition of burn out and compassion fatigue
  • Self-care and work/life balance

 

Target Audience

  • Counsellors
  • Social Workers
  • Psychologists
  • Psychiatrists
  • Nurses
  • Marriage and Family Therapists
  • Other Mental Health Professionals

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