International Death, Grief, and Bereavement Conference

UW-La Crosse Graduate & Extended Learning is offering an “International Death, Grief, and Bereavement Conference: Loneliness in Grief: Exploring the Silent Struggle & Path to Connection”:

“Who should attend

Behavioral Health Professionals • Case Managers • Clergy • Counselors • Educators • Funeral Directors • Healthcare Professionals • Hospice Providers • Palliative Care Providers • Program Directors • Social Workers

How you will benefit:

• Share in intimate and transformative educational experiences.
• Foster new relationships and connections to stay with you through your career.
• Gain insight and grow to new levels both personally and professionally.

Conference focus

Across sessions, we examine loneliness not only as a pain to be alleviated, but as a profoundly human terrain that can deepen meaning, reshape identity, and open pathways to connection. We honor grief’s silence while building bridges toward belonging and hope.

• Redefining Loneliness & Aloneness — exploring the difference between solitude and loneliness; reframing isolation as a space for meaning-making, reflection, and transformation in grief.
• Identity, Marginalization & Invisible Grief — how loneliness is intensified in marginalized groups (cultural, racial, gendered, neurodivergent, unhoused, expatriate, widowed, caregiving populations) and the impact of systemic barriers and stigma.
• Masculinity, Silence & Cultural Expectations — the hidden grief of men and fathers, stoicism, emotional suppression, and the tension between vulnerability and control.
• Developmental & Relational Dimensions of Loneliness — loneliness across the lifespan (emerging adulthood, midlife, aging elders, caregivers); grieving alone vs. grieving with others; rebuilding intimacy after loss.
• Connection, Companioning & Community Support Models — pathways from isolation to connection, including relational care approaches, peer support, and meaning-focused grief therapy.
• Innovation & Creative Healing Approaches — expressive arts, body-based practices, technology and AI, meditation, and alternative care models as tools to address bereavement loneliness.“