Hello
I'm Kelly Daugherty
Grief Expert
Work with
Kelly Daugherty of
Center for Informed Grief
1 in 12 children in the US will experience the death of a parent or sibling by the time they turn 18 years old. It is estimated that 6 million children will be bereaved by age 18 and that number more than doubles to 14.7 million by age 25.
Teachers and counselors have not received the appropriate education in college or graduate school to confidently and competently work with grieving children. Research states that only 7% of teachers have had training in grief and loss. If you work with children, you will encounter a grieving child and it is imperative that you are grief informed and know best how to support these children.
Many children aren't able to grieve at home with their family, which makes them express their feelings at school, where they feel safe. Teachers often report not feeling confident talking to children about grief and they struggle with what their role is in supporting them. They worry they will say the wrong thing or that their emotions may come up.
Many children have short and long-term difficulties following the death of a loved one. Grieving children are at increased risk for academic failure, behavioral issues, depression, substance misuse, suicide and mental health issues. Grief impacts a child emotionally, mentally, academically, cognitively, physically and behaviorally. Grief symptoms can mimic mental health disorders such as ADHD, Depression, Generalized Anxiety Disorder or PTSD.
With over 20 years of experience working with grieving children and adults, Kelly is a grief expert and knows the best techniques to help a grieving child. Kelly can help your staff feel more confident and learn the best ways to support grieving children, respond to their needs appropriately and help the children feel less alone in their grief. Kelly is available to provide consultation, staff development and training to schools, agencies, funeral homes and companies to make a plan on how best to support your grieving children and staff.
Trainings Available
Center for Informed Grief provides personalized guidance and expert advice tailored to your school's specific needs. Whether you're seeking assistance with communication strategies, activity planning, or addressing challenging reactions, Kelly Daugherty is here to offer the support you require. Additionally, we offer staff development training directly at your school or agency, whether in-person or virtually, equipping your team with best practices to support grieving students within the classroom or therapy environment.
​
-
Grief & Loss 101: Learn how grief impacts children and teens or college-aged students in the classroom and beyond.
-
Crisis Response Plan: Learn what needs to be included in developing a crisis response plan for when a student or teacher dies.
-
Grief and Loss in the Classroom: Learn formal and informal ways to educate students about current theories of grief and loss. This workshop goes beyond the traditional 5 stages taught in school.
-
School-Based Grief Groups: Learn all of the nuts & bolts of starting a school-based grief group.
-
Grief and Loss for Children in Care: Learn how best to support a child in care and appropriate techniques to help them process their grief.
-
Working with Grieving Clients: This workshop will provide you with all of the most current, up-to-date theories and interventions to support your grieving clients(children, teens, and adults) either individually or in a group setting.
-
Individual and Group Therapy for Grief: This workshop will review the benefits of individual and group therapy. Learn current effective techniques for grieving clients in individual and group sessions. Learn how to plan grief retreats and camps.
-
And More: Have an idea for a workshop or training for your staff, let us know.
Trainings
Kelly Daugherty, MSW, FT has provided the following trainings:
​
-
University of Buffalo School of Social Work Continuing Education: Grief and Loss: Exploring New Ideas to Enhance Your Practice (5 hrs)
-
Association for Mental Health & Wellness: Sharing the Journey of Adjustment through the Grief and Loss Process (3 hrs)
-
Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Central School District Children & Grief Virtual Training (2 hrs)
-
Shenendehowa Central School District: Compassionate Schools: Strategies for Supporting Grieving Students (6 hrs)
-
Shenendehowa Central School District: Compassionate Schools:Empowering Health Teachers in Grief Education (1 hr)
-
Adirondack Health Institute: Grief Symposium: Understanding Grief (45 minute presentation)
-
University of Buffalo School of Social Work Continuing Education: Navigating Traumatic Grief: Empowering Therapists in Supporting Grieving Clients - Coming Soon for Self-Study
-
CASDA: Everything you Need to Know About Creating a Mental Health Program
-
10th National Symposium on Children’s Grief Support: Grief in Families Together Program
​​
Trainings provided by Kelly Daugherty for Supporting Grieving Students Facebook Group:
​
-
Children & Grief (1hr)
-
Best Practices for Creating & Facilitating School-Based Grief Support Groups (1.5 hrs)
-
Navigating Divorce: A Guide for School Personnel Supporting Students (1.5 hrs)
-
Empowering School Personnel: Best Practices for Leading Divorce Support Groups in Schools (2 hrs)
-
Understanding Childhood Traumatic Loss: A Grief-Informed Approach (1.5 hrs)
“Kelly was very knowledgeable, helpful, informative on new therapy methods to treat those who are grieving."
“Kelly’s training on Grief and Loss offers a training that every mental health and school-based professional should take if you are looking to become more grief informed in your practice. Kelly is knowledgeable and passionate about providing a framework and tools for dealing with grief in an evidence-based and easy to understand format. Although you may be intimidated by the topic, Kelly is able to break it down so you can leave the training and implement her tools immediately into your practice. It was an invaluable training, and I am significantly more comfortable talking about grief with my clients after this training. I would highly recommend this to all my colleagues.”
"Kelly's passion and knowledge are inspiring and tremendously helpful. She is always generous with her knowledge and resources."