Top bereavement expert to lead UF workshop Feb. 15 on 'Death, Loss and Quest for Meaning'

Robert Neimeyer, a nationally known researcher and author on death, grief, loss and suicide intervention, will lead an all-day workshop on “Death, Loss and the Quest for Meaning” on Feb. 15 at the College of Education. His appearance kicks off the first of several yearly lectures on death education planned by the college.

The free workshop, open to any UF faculty members, students and staff, will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Terrace Room at Norman Hall. CEUs will be offered to licensed practitioners. Seating is limited and advance reservations are required.

The workshop is the first installment of the revived Arthur G. Peterson Death Education Lecture Series to be held each spring over the next few years at the College of Education. The series was originally funded in 1977 through a gift from the late Arthur G. Peterson, then a retired Harvard University professor. The initial lectures were coordinated by Hannelore Wass, then a faculty member in education psychology at the College of Education and a pioneer in the field of death studies. Peterson’s gift to UF was prompted by his friendship with Wass.

In Robert Neimeyer, the College of Education has lined up one of the top experts in the field of bereavement and death education for this year’s presentation. Neimeyer is professor and director of psychotherapy in the psychology department at the University of Memphis. He has authored nearly 300 articles and book chapters and published 20 books, including Meaning Reconstruction and the Experience of Loss, and is editor of the international journal Death Studies. Neimeyer has served as president of the Association for Death Education and Counseling and as chair of the International Work Group for Death, Dying and Bereavement. Neimeyer is currently working to advance a more adequate theory of grieving as a meaning-making process.

“A central process in grieving entails reconstruction of the bereaved person’s world of meaning,” he said. “Workshop participants will explore this perspective through systematic presentation and hands-on practice with meaning-making strategies.”

Lunch will be provided at the workshop, and an hour-long reception will follow at 5 p.m. On the following day, Feb. 16, Neimeyer will hold one-hour conversations with College of Education graduate students (10 a.m.) and faculty (11 a.m.), in Room 158 Norman.

To RSVP for reservations (no later than Feb. 2) or for more information, contact Ana Puig in the College of Education at anapuig@coe.ufl.edu or 392-2315, ext. 235.

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Writer
Larry Lansford, llansford@coe.ufl.edu, 352-392-0726, ext. 266