Hybrid: Grief in Schools: Fostering Compassion Resilience
October 16, 2025 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Tamarack Grief Resource Center strengthens and honors individuals, families, and communities throughout their journey with grief. With offices in Missoula, Kalispell, and Browning, we help individuals and communities navigate grief and loss through counseling, grief camps and retreats, school-based programs, support groups, community workshops, and professional education.
Dr. Tina Barrett, LCPC, is the Executive Director / Co-founder of Tamarack Grief Resource Center. Barrett’s commitment to excellence in grief and trauma care is matched by her profound commitment to healthy organizations and setting teams up for success. Weaving stories from experiences as an Executive Director, professional counselor, educator, staff member, supervisor, supervisee, and volunteer, she focuses on strength oriented care and healthy, effective workplaces. Dr. Barrett’s interactive workshops pull from experience in schools, hospitals, private practice, group homes, treatment centers, and nonprofits. She serves on the Leadership Team for Project Tomorrow Montana, the Presidents’ Circle for the National Alliance for Children’s Grief (NACG), and the Advisory Board for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). Barrett received the Community Educator Award from Association for Death Educators and Counselors (ADEC) in 2019..
Workshop Description:
Title: Grief in Schools: Fostering Compassion Resilience (3 hours)
Children face additional challenges integrating losses into their lives related to developmental influences and a limited repertoire of coping tools. School personnel are uniquely poised to provide support. We will explore different grief styles, identify the differences between kids and adult grief, and ideas for interacting with students about loss - ultimately shoring up participants to more effectively address grief, loss, and trauma in schools.
In order to best support individuals who are grieving, we need to support ourselves – staying regulated, refreshed, and shoring ourselves up to keep doing the work that we do. In the last part of this training, participants will explore practical strategies for personal, interpersonal, and workplace wellness with the goal of enhancing well-being and developing tools to address trauma and chronic stress. May you leave feeling empowered with tools to help you, your colleagues, and your employees keep on keeping on.
Objectives:
Free registration is available to educators who fall into one of these categories:
1. You work for a school district that is a member of the Montana Small Schools Alliance (MSSA)
2. You work on an Indian Reservation or a border town school with majority Indian students
3. You work in a Class C school district. These scholarships are funded by our Stop School Violence grant.
Location:
Virtual: Zoom
In Person: KWH Elementary 221 4th Ave NW, Ronan, MT 59864
Costs:
$69 (if not an educator within a school that qualifies for free registration)
3 OPI renewal units provided
Course Number: 26561202
For more information, contact [email protected]
Register at: https://forms.gle/pMsV4djDk4HxHb7s6
October 16, 2025 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Tamarack Grief Resource Center strengthens and honors individuals, families, and communities throughout their journey with grief. With offices in Missoula, Kalispell, and Browning, we help individuals and communities navigate grief and loss through counseling, grief camps and retreats, school-based programs, support groups, community workshops, and professional education.
Dr. Tina Barrett, LCPC, is the Executive Director / Co-founder of Tamarack Grief Resource Center. Barrett’s commitment to excellence in grief and trauma care is matched by her profound commitment to healthy organizations and setting teams up for success. Weaving stories from experiences as an Executive Director, professional counselor, educator, staff member, supervisor, supervisee, and volunteer, she focuses on strength oriented care and healthy, effective workplaces. Dr. Barrett’s interactive workshops pull from experience in schools, hospitals, private practice, group homes, treatment centers, and nonprofits. She serves on the Leadership Team for Project Tomorrow Montana, the Presidents’ Circle for the National Alliance for Children’s Grief (NACG), and the Advisory Board for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). Barrett received the Community Educator Award from Association for Death Educators and Counselors (ADEC) in 2019..
Workshop Description:
Title: Grief in Schools: Fostering Compassion Resilience (3 hours)
Children face additional challenges integrating losses into their lives related to developmental influences and a limited repertoire of coping tools. School personnel are uniquely poised to provide support. We will explore different grief styles, identify the differences between kids and adult grief, and ideas for interacting with students about loss - ultimately shoring up participants to more effectively address grief, loss, and trauma in schools.
In order to best support individuals who are grieving, we need to support ourselves – staying regulated, refreshed, and shoring ourselves up to keep doing the work that we do. In the last part of this training, participants will explore practical strategies for personal, interpersonal, and workplace wellness with the goal of enhancing well-being and developing tools to address trauma and chronic stress. May you leave feeling empowered with tools to help you, your colleagues, and your employees keep on keeping on.
Objectives:
- Identify differences between grief responses for youth and adults
- Introduce language for talking about illness, end-of-life, death and grief
- Discuss grief styles and strategies for supporting four different styles
- Explore tips and skills for interacting constructively with a range of responses to trauma and loss and unique considerations for supporting grief after suicide
- Outline practical tools (creative, narrative, symbolic, physical) for interacting about and supporting students following grief and trauma
- Identify impacts of pervasive exposure to stress and trauma for community health providers, including vicarious trauma and burnout
- Define and articulate importance of fostering compassion resilience
- Differentiate personal, interpersonal, and organizational strategies to enhance workplace wellness and collaboration
- Set intentions for integrating ideas at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and systems level
Free registration is available to educators who fall into one of these categories:
1. You work for a school district that is a member of the Montana Small Schools Alliance (MSSA)
2. You work on an Indian Reservation or a border town school with majority Indian students
3. You work in a Class C school district. These scholarships are funded by our Stop School Violence grant.
Location:
Virtual: Zoom
In Person: KWH Elementary 221 4th Ave NW, Ronan, MT 59864
Costs:
$69 (if not an educator within a school that qualifies for free registration)
3 OPI renewal units provided
Course Number: 26561202
For more information, contact [email protected]
Register at: https://forms.gle/pMsV4djDk4HxHb7s6