Food as Ritual in Grief
Member Exclusive | Hospice Foundation of America Webinar
Hospice Foundation of America webinar
Event Details
Historically, cultural and religious rituals have provided a framework and paradigm to people and communities navigating loss. Expert panelists will examine contemporary grief rituals, focusing on the use of food to help the bereaved connect with themselves, their memories, and their culture during the holidays and beyond.
At the conclusion of this program, participants will be able to:
- Define ritual and its value in healthy grieving
- Identify how food has been an important ritual in funeral and grief processes throughout history
- Describe how rituals surrounding food within the grief process can help honor and share memories, connect with cultural expressions of grief and loss, and function to make meaning
SDAHO members receive free or discounted rates on HFA educational sessions. Register through SDAHO to receive a coupon code to use on HFA's site to access the special rates.
Nancy Baur is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor with supervision designation and a Licensed Independent Chemical Dependency Counselor. Nancy’s current position is working as a Mobile Response Stabilization Service (MRSS) Therapist for Hopewell Health Centers in Southeastern Ohio. She specializes in trauma therapy for children, adolescents, and people struggling with addiction. She is an Adjunct Instructor for the University of Rio Grande and a current student at the University of Vermont completing her certification as a Death Doula.
Kailey Bradley is a licensed counselor and obtained a doctorate in counselor education and supervision in 2024 from Ohio University. Kailey also holds certifications in thanatology (FT) and has extensive training in best practices for supportive grief counseling and end of life care. Dr. Kailey has a background working in a hospice setting and is equipped to help with end-of-life decision making. Kailey loves working with children and families navigating grief and illness and is currently the president of the Association for Child and Adolescent Counseling Ohio Branch. Kailey also is an educator and is currently an adjunct 2 professor at Marian University in their thanatology program where she teaches courses on childhood bereavement, pediatric hospice care, and expressive arts in counseling.
Kenneth Doka is Senior Vice President of Grief Programs at Hospice Foundation of America (HFA) and the recipient of the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Death Education and Counseling (ADEC). He is professor emeritus, the Graduate School of The College of New Rochelle. A prolific author and editor, Doka serves as editor of HFA’s Living with Grief® book series, its Journeys newsletter, and numerous other books and publications. He has been a panelist on HFA’s Living with Grief® program for 30 years. Doka is a past president of ADEC, a former board member of the International Work Group on Death, Dying and Bereavement, and an Advisory Board member to the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). He is the recipient of The International Work Group on Death, Dying, and Bereavement’s prestigious Herman Feifel Award and ADEC’s Award for Outstanding Contributions in the Field of Death Education. In 2006, he was grandfathered in as a Mental Health Counselor under New York’s first state licensure of counselors. Doka is an ordained Lutheran minister.