Grief | Prof Lauren Breen and Shelly Skinner

Grief and dying are among the most underdiscussed topics in society. How does this impact our wellbeing, and does our understanding about grief need to change? To explore this topic, Sarah is joined by Professor Lauren Breen and Ms Shelly Skinner. Lauren is researcher in Curtin University’s School of Population Health, specialising in the psychology of grief and loss. Lauren’s research is internationally recognised, and she has received a research recognition award from the Association for Death Education and Counselling in the USA, for her significant contribution to studies concerning grief across the lifespan. Shelly is a social worker who specialises in the palliative care of children, and is also the CEO and Founder of a children's bereavement service, Lionheart Camp for Kids.What is grief literacy? [1:49]Does palliative care need to change to include the grieving process after death? [09:11]Has the rising acceptance of voluntary assisted dying helped in discussions about death and grieving? [12:49]The stigma of certain ‘causes’ of death [14:29]COVID-19 and ‘pandemic grief’ [17:30]:The so-called ‘death industry’: will the funeral industry change in light of our changing attitudes towards death [19:41]How should we be involving children in the grieving process and ritual? [24:23]Learn moreLionheart Camp for KidsGrief literacyConnect with our guestsProfessor Lauren BreenProfessor Lauren Breen is a Curtin University health researcher who is internationally recognised for her research in the psychology of grief and loss.Staff profileTwitter profileWebsiteLinkedInShelley SkinnerMs Shelly Skinner is a social worker who is involved in the palliative care of children. She founded the Lionheart Camp for Kids to help children who have lost people close to them to grieve.Twitter profileWebsiteJoin Curtin UniversityThis podcast is brought to you by Curtin University. Curtin is a global university known for its commitment to making positive change happen through high-impact research, strong industry partnerships and practical teaching.Work with usStudy a research degreeStart postgraduate educationGot any questions, or suggestions for future topics?Email thefutureof@curtin.edu.auSocial mediaTwitterFacebookInstagramYouTubeLinkedInTranscriptRead the transcript.TeamHost: Sarah TaillierContent Creator: Karen GreenProducer: Emilia JolakoskaRecordist: Annabelle FouchardFirst Nations AcknowledgementCurtin University acknowledges the traditional owners of the land on which Curtin Perth is located, the Whadjuk people of the Nyungar Nation, and on Curtin Kalgoorlie, the Wongutha people of the North-Eastern Goldfields; and the First Nations peoples on all Curtin locations.MusicOKAY by 13ounce Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0 Music promoted by Audio Library.Curtin University supports academic freedom of speech. The views expressed in The Future Of podcast may not reflect those of Curtin University.