Clinical Topics & Methods Category

The Grieving Brain

The Surprising Science of How We Learn from Love and Loss

14 CE Hours
369 members have taken this course

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About the Course

In The Grieving Brain, neuroscientist and psychologist Mary-Frances O’Connor, PhD, gives us a fascinating new window into one of the hallmark experiences of being human. O’Connor makes cutting-edge neuroscience accessible through her contagious enthusiasm, and guides us through how we encode love and grief. With love, our neurons help us form attachments to others; but, with loss, our brain must come to terms with where our loved ones went, or how to imagine a future that encompasses their absence. The Grieving Brain does what the best popular science books do, combining storytelling, accessible science, and practical knowledge that will help us better understand what happens when we grieve and how to navigate loss with more ease and grace.

This course is based on the book, The Grieving Brain created by Mary-Frances O’Connor, Ph.D. published in 2022.

Publication Details

Publication Date: HarperOne (February 1, 2022) Feb 2022

Course Material Author

Mary-Frances O'Connor, Ph.D.

Mary-Frances O'Connor, Ph.D. is an associate professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, where she directs the Grief, Loss and Social Stress (GLASS) Lab, Dr. O’Connor conducts studies to better understand the grief process both psychologically and physiologically. She is a leader in the field of complicated grief, a clinical condition in which people do not adjust to the acute feelings of grief and show increases in yearning, avoidance, and rumination. Her work primarily focuses on trying to tease out the mechanisms that cause this ongoing and severe reaction to loss. In particular, she is curious about the neurobiological, immune, and cardiovascular factors that vary between individual responses to grief.

Mary-Frances O'Connor, Ph.D. authored the material only, and was not involved in creating this CE course. They are identified here for your own evaluation of the relevancy of the material this course is based on.

Target Audience

Counselors, marriage and family therapists, psychologists and social workers. This course is appropriate for all levels of knowledge.

Learning Objectives

After taking this activity, you should be able to:

  1. 1 Recognize how cognitive neuroscience helps to explain why it is so hard to understand that a person has died and is gone forever?
  2. 2 Describe why grief causes so many emotional reactions.
  3. 3 Summarize what happens to the brain during grief.
  4. 4 Summarize how our understanding of grief science has changed over time.
  5. 5 Discuss complicated grief, including the treatment for it.
  6. 6 Recognize how our brain enables bonding in relationships.
  7. 7 Discuss the link between rumination and grief.
  8. 8 List several strategies to manage overwhelming grief and restore a meaningful life.
  9. 9 Summarize why grief is a form of learning.

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CE Learning Systems adheres to the ACCME's Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity – including faculty, planners, reviewers, or others ― are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (formerly known as commercial interests).

The following relevant financial relationships have been disclosed by this activity's planners, faculty, and the reviewer:

Planners and Reviewers

The planners of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships.

Material Authors

There are no known relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Commercial support

There is no commercial support for this distance-learning course.

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Course Details

14 CE Hours
Book
Course 103225

Profession Group

  • Behavioral Health

Related Topics

Neuroscience Grief

Availability

This course is available until Jan 4th, 2032.

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