The Grief at the Core of Caregiver Therapy-Processing & Working Through Loss Throughout the Caregiving Experience

Grief is one of the most common emotional experiences of family caregivers, affecting them in different ways at different stages of the caregiving experience. Some family caregivers seek psychotherapy specifically to help cope with grief. For other family caregivers, grief is revealed to them during psychotherapy when discussing other issues, such as conflict with family members. Helping caregiver clients work through their grief is a central task of caregiver therapy.

In this training, we will cover the most common ways grief can present for caregivers throughout the caregiving process. We will highlight ways to identify grief in therapeutic sessions and highlight strategies to help support clients through this ongoing non-linear process both while providing care and following the loss of a loved one.

This training is designed for mental health clinicians who work with or wish to work with family caregivers. If you support caregivers in your practice, this training is for you.

$200 CAD/person*

(approximately $143 USD)

Virtual Workshop Session, January 14th 12:30-2:30pm ET

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Meet the facilitators

Dr. Barry Jacobs:

Barry J. Jacobs (PsyD) is a clinical psychologist, family therapist, and a Principal for Health Management Associates, a national health care consulting firm. A former magazine journalist, he is the author of The Emotional Survival Guide for Caregivers: Looking After Yourself and Your Family While Helping an Aging Parent (Guilford, 2006) and coauthor with his wife, Julia L. Mayer, PsyD, of AARP Meditations for Caregivers: Practical, Emotional, and Spiritual Support for You and Your Family (Hachette, 2016), AARP Love and Meaning After 50: The 10 Challenges to Great Relationships—and How to Overcome Them (Hachette, 2020), and The AARP Caregiver Answer Book (Guilford, 2025). He has also written a self-help column for caregivers for AARP.org since 2013. A board member of the Caregiver Action Network, a national family caregiver advocacy and support organization, and a former director of behavioral sciences for the Crozer Health Family Medicine Residency, he maintains a psychotherapy practice in Media, Pennsylvania, specializing in supporting individuals with chronic and serious illness and their caregivers. For seven years, he was the primary caregiver for his stepfather with Alzheimer’s disease and mother with vascular dementia.

Stephanie Muskat:

Stephanie Muskat (MSW,RSW) is the founder and clinical lead of Compassion in Caregiving, a therapy practice for family caregivers. Prior to transitioning to private practice full-time, Stephanie worked in acute care and mental health research at several major hospitals in the Greater Toronto Area (Ontario, Canada).

Her work is primarily focused on caregivers and the people they care for. Stephanie has been featured on numerous television networks and radio stations (including CTV, CP24, and CBC), in popular publications, (including the New York Times, Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star) and has presented at many universities and public events to raise awareness about mental health and mental health support. Stephanie has acted as a primary caregiver to several family members and brings her personal experiences to her work with clients.

Stephanie has a strengths-based, non-judgmental approach focused on empowerment and positive growth and change. She believes that our daily experiences in life are an interplay between ourselves, the systems that surround us, and how we have been impacted by our experiences from childhood to the present moment. She uses a number of therapeutic modalities in her practice including ACT, EFT, CBT and psychodynamic approaches.

She sits on several committees and advocacy groups aimed at raising awareness and change for caregivers, including Caregivers CAN (Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence) and the Caregiver Centered Care Physician Advisory Network.

  • I loved the training on multiple counselling modalities and the way they can be very practically used in a hospital setting which I work in.

    -Previous training participant

  • "I liked the great case study format used for all three sections, clear realistic examples, and tangible steps to take"

    -Previous training participant

  • "All presenters were very knowledgeable and explained their approaches well. Thank you for the wonderful webinar! Looking forward to more."

    -Previous training participant

  • "I want more!! Would love to take part in more training about modalities specific to different types of caregiving."

    -Previous training participant

  • "This was excellent!"

    -Previous training participant

Workshop Outline

What We’ll Cover

  • The types of grief experienced during and after caregiving

  • Identifying grief in caregivers, even when it is less obvious: uncovering layers of grief and other presenting emotions

  • Exploring and sitting with grief in and between sessions, for both client and clinician

  • Complexities of grief and trauma

  • Practical modalities and approaches to grief therapy with caregivers, including:

    • Somatic approaches

    • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

    • Psychodynamic and insight-oriented approaches

    • Meaning-making and cognitive approaches

Learning Objectives

By the end of this training, participants will be able to:

  1. Describe the types of grief that arise during and after caregiving, and how grief can present in caregivers, including when it is complicated or less recognizable.

  2. Identify practical modalities, approaches, and strategies for caregiver grief, and when to apply them in session.

  3. Begin to tolerate and contain clients' deep sadness.


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