The Center for Grieving Children to Host Internationally Known Expert on Grief and Bereaved Children on Sept. 11

Dr. Donna Schuurman will lead community discussion in Portland as part of the Center's 20th Anniversary Celebration

PORTLAND, Maine – The Center for Grieving Children will host Dr. Donna Schuurman, an internationally known expert on grief and bereaved children, for a public lecture and discussion on Sept. 11 in Portland as part of the agency’s 20th Anniversary Celebration.

The event, free and open to the public, will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 11, at the Glickman Library Conference Room at the University of Southern Maine in Portland.

Dr. Schuurman, the National Director of The Dougy Center for Grieving Children in Oregon, will present “How Do We Foster Resiliency in Grieving Children, Teens and Families in Turbulent Times?”

Her lecture and discussion will explore what factors contribute to resiliency; what parents, professionals and the community can do to foster resiliency; the needs of grieving children; and the barriers to resiliency.

Earlier on Sept. 11, Dr. Schuurman also will present “Sorting the Wheat from the Chaff in Grief Counseling” to professional grief workers, therapists, volunteers, social workers, hospice personnel, guidance counselors and other professionals. The event will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. at The Center for Grieving Children (CGC) in Portland and registration is required. Please visit the CGC website, www.cgcmaine.org, for more information.

"We are honored to have Donna visit our Center. She is a great resource on the field of grief and it is wonderful to be able to share her expertise with the community," said Anne Lynch, Executive Director of The Center for Grieving Children in Portland.

Lynch said Dr. Schuurman’s appearance is intended to coincide with the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which left hundreds of children without a parent or loved one and thousands of children impacted by those terrible events long after.

Dr. Schuurman is an internationally recognized authority on grief and bereaved children, teens, and families, and the author of "Never the Same: Coming to Terms with the Death of a Parent" (St. Martin's Press, 2003). She has written extensively on topics related to parentally bereaved children. Her articles and other contributions have been published in scholarly journals and textbooks, and she has been interviewed as an expert on the subject by The New York Times, SmartMoney, and other consumer publications. She has presented throughout the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Rwanda, and Australia.

The Center for Grieving Children, located in Portland, Maine, has been serving the community for 20 years. Its mission is to provide loving support to grieving children, teens, families and the community through peer support, outreach and education. For more information please visit www.cgcmaine.org or call The Center at (207) 775-5216.

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