Team Trainings

Grief Support

In this seminar, your team will learn how to discuss death and dying using developmentally appropriate language and will learn tips for coping with death as healthcare providers. Participants will learn how to identify developmentally appropriate expressions of grief and how to help parents to share news about death and dying with children. Anonymized case studies will be discussed to help providers contextualize lessons to their own practice. As a child life specialist, I have helped numerous families process grief and explain death to their children and I have coached other providers on how to have these difficult conversations. I look forward to helping your team feel more confident discussing death and dying.

Procedure Preparation and Support

In this class, your team will learn how to provide developmentally-appropriate coping support to infants, children, and teenagers undergoing medical procedures, including vaccines, scans, surgeries, or other procedures relevant to your practice. Participants will learn strategies to improve patient understanding and compliance, and reduce patient pain and stress. Participants will also learn how to effectively utilize parents as part of a child's coping team for procedures. This in turn helps improve patient satisfaction and reduce the need for additional staff, restraints, and sedation for procedures. As a child life specialist, I have helped thousands of children and families have positive experiences with a wide range of medical procedures and have successfully educated staff at multiple staff in how to improve patient coping. I look forward to helping your team turn procedures into an opportunity for positive patient coping!

Diagnosis Education

This seminar will help providers feel more confident educating parents and children about illnesses or conditions, from a minor injury to a chronic diagnosis. Participants will learn how children of different developmental levels understand and process health-related information and learn words and techniques to help children understand their health. Providers who participate in this class will also learn how to empower parents to educate their children about their conditions. Finally, participants will learn strategies for improving diagnosis-related coping and treatment compliance. I have provided education to children and families on numerous diagnoses and conditions, including diabetes, cancer, IBD, amputation, and more. I look forward to helping your team increase patient understand and coping.

Infant and Child Development

This class is designed to help providers learn the basics of emotional and psychological development, especially as it relates to healthcare and their specific practice. Participants will learn the importance of play, how to assess patient coping, and how children of different ages understand healthcare experiences and learn most effectively. Participants should expect to leave this class feeling more confident in their ability to communicate effectively with children of all ages. Please note: This class is not intended to help participants assess possible delays in development or to determine when treatment for developmental issues may be needed. As a child life specialist, I am an expert on child development, but diagnosis or treatment of developmental delays is outside of my scope of practice.

Provider Self-Care

In this class, your team will learn the importance of self-care and how to differentiate between burnout and compassion fatigue. They will learn about the research behind self-care among healthcare providers and will have the opportunity to create individualized self-care plans as individuals and as a team. Apart from practicing self-care as a provider, I have also been published in the Child Life Bulletin on this subject, given multiple talks about self-care to hospital employees, and have led support groups focused on self-care for NICU parents. I am passionate about self-care and would love to help your team craft their own self-care plans.