AMI-Quebec’s 2024 Mental Health Forum
Grieving Losses Surrounded by Uncertainty:
Understanding, Coping, and the Myth of Closure
Thursday, October 17, 7 pm
Oscar Peterson Concert Hall, 7141 Sherbrooke West
and online
Free! Presentation in English and no need to register in advance.
Keynote speaker: Dr. Pauline Boss
Professor Emeritus, University of Minnesota
Sharing personal experiences: Lori Tyrrell and Jonathan Borenstein
Moderator: Sonali Karnick, CBC Radio
“Ambiguous loss is a loss that remains unclear and without official verification or immediate resolution, which may never be achieved. The people we love can be physically gone but kept psychologically present – or the opposite, physically present but psychologically gone. We feel our grief, but because no death has occurred or been verified, it is often criticized as premature. Ambiguous losses then lead to a disenfranchised grief because others do not see the loss as credible and worthy of grief”– Dr. Pauline Boss
This can be the case when serious mental health challenges strike. Mental illness often changes the trajectory of the diagnosed individual, and also wreaks havoc on the entire family. Changing expectations and gradual acceptance are accompanied by a sense of loss and grief. There may be no closure, but rather learning to live with the ambiguity, uncertainty, and grief.
Multilevel ambiguous losses were experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, and continue in the face of many crises throughout the world, leading to an increase in anxiety and anger.
Dr. Pauline Boss, Professor Emerita at the University of Minnesota, coined the term Ambiguous Loss, and will be the keynote speaker at the AMI-Quebec Annual Mental Health Event (formerly the Low Beer Memorial Lecture). She will address the challenges presented by ambiguity, as well as ways to make peace with it and move forward despite its presence. Two individuals experiencing ambiguous losses will share their personal stories. The event will be moderated by CBC Radio host Sonali Karnick.
We hope you can join us on October 17th!
Co-sponsored with the Department of Psychology and the Centre for Clinical Research in Health (CCRH), Concordia University
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