Bereaved Families of Ontario, Summer 5K Run

Run to support Bereaved Families of Ontario

in support of the
Bereaved Families of Ontario
SW Region

Friday, July 18th, 2008

The Barking Frog
Downtown
London, Ontario
7:00 PM

click here for info

Creative Arts and Bereavement , University of Western Ontario Distance Education Course Becomes Learning Community

"Reclamation" photo by C. McLean

Creative arts and bereavement education over the internet.

Twenty five women from across the country.. nurses, counsellors, mental health professionals, qualitative researchers, artists, teachers, social workers, ministers, chaplains and caregivers are connecting in a unique distance education course at The University of Western Ontario with the help of instructional technologies (Web CT Owl) and learning together about creative responses and the arts in death and bereavement work. Course content explores “the creative response” and the interplay of creativity and the arts such as writing, drama, ritual, narrative, poetry and visual arts in healthcare.

This academic course, “Creative Responses in Death and Bereavement” is part of the Grief and Bereavement Certificate Program, Continuing Studies, University of Western Ontario, London and is taught by Cheryl McLean. “This is more than a course. It’s become a community as we have had an opportunity to share rich and meaningful stories while learning about the many applications of the creative arts in health, education and training."

The course will close with a week-end of arts and bereavement presentations, performances and experiential workshops reflecting the theme “Remembering the Story of a Life” to be held at King’s University College July 5 and 6.

Arts and Health Resource Listing, Death and Bereavement

Creative Responses to Death and Bereavement. A helpful resource listing.

Books

Bertman, S. L., (1999), “Grief and the Healing Arts Creativity as Therapy” Baywood Publishing, New York.

Morgan, J.D., (2000), “Meeting the Needs of our Clients Creatively”, Baywood Publishing, New York.

Neimeyer, R. A. (2006), “Rainbow in the Stone”, Selected poems by Robert A. Neimeyer, Mercury Publishers, Memphis.

Morgan, J.D., (1997), “Readings in Thanatology”, Baywood Publishing, New York.


Literary Arts

Charon R. (2006), “Narrative Medicine: Honouring the Stories of Illness” New York Oxford University Press.

Horowitz HW. (1996), “Poetry on Rounds: A Model for the Integration of Humanities into Residency Training”, Lancet, 347, pg. 447- 449.

Leggo, C., (2007), “Living Poetically A Pensées on Literacy and Health,”Canadian Creative Arts in Health, Training and Education Journal, Issue 6, Sept. pg. 3 - 12. (see http://www.cmclean.com/ Sept. 07 issue)

McNiff, S. (1992), “Art as Medicine: Creating a Therapy of the Imagination,” Shambhala Publications Inc.

Novosel, J. (2007), “The Death of My Young Husband from Cancer, A Love Story” (a personal story and autobiographical narrative), Canadian Creative Arts in Health, Training and Education Journal, Issue 6, Sept. pg. 26 - 32. (See http://www.cmclean.com/ Sept. 07 issue)

Rappaport, M. (2006), “The Poetry of Practice”, Canadian Creative Arts in Health, Training and Education Journal, Issue 3, Sept. pg. 3 (see http://www.cmclean.com/ Sept. 06 issue)

Serviss, S., Pointe, S. (2006), “The Artists-on-the Wards Program” Arts Programming Integral in Healthcare at University of Alberta Hospital, Canadian Creative Arts in Health, Training and Education Journal, Issue 3, Sept. pg. 8 - 9 (see http://www.cmclean.com/ Sept. 06 issue)

Viva Davis Halifax, Nancy (2006), “Things that matter, Stories about Living with Colorectal Cancer” Canadian Creative Arts in Health, Training and Education Journal, Issue 2, June, pg. 3 - 4. (see http://www.cmclean.com June 06 issue.)

Visual Arts

Pope R. (1991), “Illness and Healing: Images of Cancer”, Lancelot Press.

Wikstrom B. M. (2001), “Works of Art: A Complement to Theoretical Knowledge When Teaching Nursing Care” Journal of Clinical Nursing, 10, pg. 25–32.

Drama in Health/ Education and Training

Crowshoe L, Bickford J, & Decottignies M. (2005). Interactive Drama: Teaching Aboriginal Health Medical Education. Medical Education, 39, pg. 521–522.

Gold, M. (2000), “Therapy Through Drama: The Fictional Family,” Charles C. Thomas Publishers.

Lewis, P., Johnson, D.R., (2000), “Current Approaches in Drama Therapy” Charles C. Thomas, Springfield.

Lorenz K.A., Steckart M. J., & Rosenfeld KE. (2004). End-of-life Education Using the Dramatic Arts: The Wit Educational Initiative. Academic Medicine, 79, pg. 481–486.

McLean, C. L. (2006), “Performing the Field,” (drama in research and therapeutic work in aging/ health, education and training, creating an ethnodrama based on field work), Canadian Creative Arts in Health, Training and Education Journal, Issue l, March, pg. 3 - 5. (reports on this research here

McLean, C.L. (2005), “Remember Me for Birds” An Ethnodrama about Aging, Mental Health and Autonomy, script book published by Ravenquest Inc., Cochrane, Alberta/ also on DVD, inquire ccahte@cmclean.com

Mitchell, G. (2006), “I’m Still Here!” A research based performance about living with dementia, Canadian Creative Arts in Health, Training and Education Journal, Issue l, March, pg. 7 - 8. (see http://www.cmclean.com March 06 issue)

Nisker J. (2008), “Theatre as a health-policy research tool” in: Knowles JG, Cole AL. Handbook of the Arts in Qualitative Research: Perspectives, Methodologies, Examples, and Issues. Thousand Oaks, Sage Publications,

Saldana, J. (2005), “Ethnodrama an Anthology of Reality Theatre,” Alta Mira Press.

Shapiro J, & Hunt L. (2003). “All the World’s a Stage: The Use of Theatrical Performance in Medical Education” Medical Education, 37, pg. 922–927.

Music/Dance

Blasco P. G., Moreto G. & Levites M. R. (2005). “Teaching Humanities Through Opera: Leading Medical Students to Reflective Attitudes” Family Medicine, 37, Pg. 18–20.

Cantelo, B. “Carry Me Home a Choreographed Film Portrayal of the Patient Moving from Fear to Security” (a dance project based on research in palliative care) Canadian Creative Arts in Health, Training and Education Journal, Issue 3, pg. pg. 10 - 12. (see http://www.cmclean.com/ September 06 issue)

Hutcheon, M. Hutcheon, L. (2007), “Medicine in/as Culture: The Teachings of Opera” (giving voice to the drama of the suffering person) Canadian Creative Arts in Health, Training and Education Journal, Issue 5, March, pg. 4 - 7. (see http://www.cmclean.com/ March 07 issue)

McLaren, C. (2007), “The Nurse’s Foot: A Phenomenological Exploration” (the story of the dancer as nurse), Canadian Creative Arts in Health, Training and Education Journal, Issue 5, March, pg. 8 - 11.(see http://www.cmclean.com/ March 07 issue.)


Film

Shapiro J, Rucker L, & Beck J. (2006). Training the Clinical Eye and Mind: Using Films to Teach Nursing. Medical Education, 40, pg. 263–268.

WIT (2001), script by Margaret Edson / more info: http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1804849838/details

Humanities/Medicine

Levine M. (1999). “On the Humanities in Nursing” Canadian Journal of Nursing Research, 30, pg. 213–217.

Mayne P. (2005, January 20). “Medicine and Dentistry Reveals Artistic Side” Western News. Retrieved from http:// communications.uwo.ca/western_news/ story.html?listing_id=17297.

Newell G.C, & Hanes D. J. (2003). “Listening to Music: The Case for its Use in Teaching Medical Humanism” Academic Medicine 78, pg. 714–719.

Social Science/performance ethnography

Denzin, N.K. (2003), “Performance Ethnography a Critical Pedagogy and the Politics of Culture”, Sage Publications.

Organizations and websites:

Seasons of the Heart Bereavement Services Directory
http://www.licc.on.ca/season/

Bereavement Ontario Network links
http://www.bereavementontarionetwork.ca/links.html

Arts Informed Research and Education

Artography, University of British Columbia

OISE, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education

Arts in Humanities in Health and Medicine Program, University of Alberta
http://www.med.ualberta.ca/education/ahhm.cfm

Dalhousie University Medical Humanities http://humanities.medicine.dal.ca/

Online accessible resources:

(Canadian)
Arts and Health Crossing Borders BLOG http://www.ccahtecrossingborders.blogspot.com
(over 200 posts on arts and health)

(U.S.)
Literature Arts and Medicine BLOG http://medhum.med.nyu.edu/blog/

Canadian Creative Arts in Health, Training and Education Journal http://www.cmclean.com

Youtube Videos Related to Arts and Health

Arts and Disability
“Shameless” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQlYt_eVmdM

Music Therapy
Oliver Sacks Musicophilia
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nnLTPPDRXI&feature=related

Medicine and Literature
Vincent Lam interview, “Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures”
http://www.scotiabankgillerprize.ca/author_videos_lam.htm

Visual Arts as Creative Response
Toby Jones, “Breast Cancer the Indestructible Bust and an Artist’s Tribute to his Mother”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaZrThINhaY

Music in Medical Education
Music, Medicine and Arts, Longwood’s Symphony / http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMoyt35_wkk

Dance in Conveying Suffering
Panic! (an example of the power of dance to convey suffering)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFm8wL1yjKs

Grieving as Meaning-Making, Robert A. Neimeyer Presentation London, Ontario

London Interfaith Counselling Centre presents,

Death, Loss and the Quest for Meaning

February 28, 2008

Robert A. Neimeyer

Bessie Labatt Hall, King's University College, London, Ontario

• Trajectories Through Bereavement
• Loss and the Disruption of Self Narratives
• Grief Therapy and the Reconstruction of Meaning

Registration information at http://www.licc.on.ca/confdetails.htm

Robert A. Neimeyer, Ph.D., is Professor and Director of Psychotherapy Research in the Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, where he also maintains an active clinical practice. He has published 20 books, including Meaning Reconstruction and the Experience of Loss, and serves as Editor of the journal Death Studies. The author of nearly 300 articles and book chapters, and a frequent workshop presenter, he currently is working to advance a more adequate theory of grieving as a meaning-making process.

Creative Responses to Death and Bereavement , University of Western Ontario, Registration for Spring 08

Creative Responses to Death and Bereavement

University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario
May, 2008

Cheryl McLean

Plans are currently underway to offer the University of Western Ontario course "Creative Responses to Death and Bereavement" on line by May 08 through University of Western Ontario, Continuing Studies. I will be working with UWO helping to adapt new programming and materials for the on line WEB CT OWL version of the program so that the course will be widely accessible and interactive for registrants who frequently include nurse educators, therapists, teachers, social workers, those working in aging and health, caregivers and others with an interest in bereavement counselling and education. Professionals will have an opportunity to learn about the interplay of the arts such as writing, narrative, drama, poetry and ritual in death and bereavement work.



I will also be available to teach the "in class" Creative Responses to Death and Bereavement course which will be offered at King's University College, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Monday evenings starting in early May and running to July from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Register before March l, 2008. This course will be offered as part of the "Grief and Bereavement Studies" program at The University of Western Ontario.

Application deadline: March 1, 2008


For full program details see: http://www.uwo.ca/cstudies/framepostdegree.html
See green bottom rt. sidebar "Grief and Bereavement"

Other information:


King's University College Centre for Education about Grief and Bereavement, UWO
http://www.uwo.ca/kings/academic_programs/centres/deathed/






See video clips #1 C. McLean, Introduction, Creative Arts in Bereavement
Presentation, King's University College, University of Western Ontario
http://www.cmclean.com/movies/cheryl-part1.mov

video clip #2 Arts approaches in health, training and education gaining momentum, King's University College, University of Western Ontario
http://www.cmclean.com/movies/cheryl-part2.mov

"The study of death is truly life enhancing."

Dr. John (Jack) Morgan

Creative Responses to Death and Bereavement, University of Western Ontario, Continuing Studies

Creative Arts Methodologies in Death and Bereavement Programming at University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario 2008
Cheryl McLean

Plans are currently underway to offer the University of Western Ontario course "Creative Responses to Death and Bereavement" on line by May 08 through The University of Western Ontario, Continuing Studies Dept. I will be working with UWO helping to adapt new programming and materials for the on line WEB CT OWL version of the program so that the course can be widely accessible and interactive for registrants who frequently include nurse educators, teachers, social workers, caregivers and others working in bereavement counselling and education.

For up-to-date information about this course and contact information:
http://ccahtecrossingborders.blogspot.com/2007/12/creative-responses-to-death-and.html

Creative Responses in Hospice and Palliative Care, Refresher Day London and Middlesex

A Refresher Day in Hospice Palliative Care for London, Middlesex

The London Palliative Care Committee

of special interest to family physicians, registered nurses, personal support workers, social workers, spiritual care providers, nurse practitioners, case managers, therapists, pharmacists, health care students

"Awakening the Senses...a Creative Response"



Wednesday, October 17, 2007



8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

to be held at

Stoneridge Inn, London, Ontario

Presenters:

"Living Stories of Hope and Change"

Cheryl McLean is Founder and Publisher of CCAHTE Journal, the Canadian based international and interdisciplinary peer reviewed open access journal of The Creative Arts in Health, Training and Education, accessible to subscribers worldwide and leading universities, medical schools and health organizations. She is a frequent lecturer and presenter at universities and health conferences speaking about progressive developments in the creative arts in research, action and practice in health, training and education and teaches the course "Creative Responses to Death and Bereavement" at The University of Western Ontario.

website: http://www.cmclean.com/

"Your Tree, My Tree..a Way of Being Together"

Wanda Sawicki

Wanda has a passion for spirit-filled living which expresses itself in art making, storytelling, writing and walking pilgrimage. A visual artist, she has a Canadian exhibition record dating from 1977. As an Art Therapist, with thirteen years experience, Wanda enjoys facilitating creative therapeutic expression in individuals and groups. She specializes in areas of acculturation, life losses and change and spirituality.

"People and Plants: Engaging the Mind"

Marilyn Cox

Marilyn is a horticulturist with an appreciation for the social, spiritual, physical and emotional aspects of gardening. She trained as a horticultural technician then pursued a degree in Sociology accompanied by certificates in Thanatology and Horticultural Therapy. She operates a nursery north of London and is an assistant for the Bereavement Ontario Network.

As a volunteer with hospice and by working with bereavement groups she has witnessed first hand the healing capacity of nature and gardening projects. Marilyn is involved with a network of horticultural therapists and bereavement professionals and is continually learning about the successes and pitfalls of incorporating horticultural therapy into programs for the dying and bereaved.

Information and inquiries about this event contact:

Ann Sabine

519-668-2997 Ext. 1453

Breast Cancer, The Indestructible Bust and an Artist's Tribute to his Mother

When I came across Toby Jones and his work on Youtube I was moved by the sensitivity of this young artist and son who had coped with the loss of his mother to breast cancer through his artistic process and powerful work. In a statement about the resiliency, beauty and strength of human beings, Toby Jones creates "indestructible breasts in a metaphorical fight against breast cancer."

I asked Toby if I might share his work with you at "Crossing Borders" and he willingly agreed.
CM

Toby's Story

"My mother died of metastasized breast cancer in February of 2001 after valiantly struggling with the disease for five years. After her death, in the years that followed, a large part of coping with the emptiness in my life was my art. I first started what I now call the "Fiberglass Busts Project" driven by subconscious motives I wouldn't understand until much later. It began from a need to create something out of the emptiness in my life, a time consuming project to fill my days with errands and give me a reason to get out of bed in the morning."


"Being a mother is one of the hardest jobs anyone could undertake-- she came to understand that all mothers, coming from a place of love for their children wished they could be better... and that all mothers do the best they can. They learn and love and grow and make it up as they go along if they have to. My mother was not Martha Stewart or Julia Child-- but to this day, I realized she taught me lessons that I have used every day in life. She taught me in showing me the things that she knew and in allowing me to do the things she could not.

She never expected me to be anything but what I was, and never gave me a reason to lie. She never withheld her approval. She is the mother I asked God for. She will always be with me.
I Love You Mom. " Toby.

"It all became clear to me, one morning as I labored in my garage with a power sander, trying to smooth out the bondo. With beads of sweat trickling down into my eyes, I started to wonder what exactly was I doing? This sculpture is way too thick! Why the ballistics grade fabric? Why the over kill? It finally dawned on me what my subconscious motive was. I was attempting to create breasts that were indestructible. This was the gift I wanted to give to my mother and my metaphorical fight against breast cancer. This insight was the catalyst I needed to move forward. I envisioned dozens of sculptures, auctioned off for Breast Cancer Charities. Building Breasts Impervious To Cancer...it would be a tribute to mother. "

See Youtube Video about Toby Jones, Breast Cancer Art Project

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaZrThINhaY

TV Report Ch. 11 NEWS

and other Press stories:

http://www.tobyjones.com/press.asp

More about Toby Jones and his work: http://www.tobyjones.com/art.asp

"Fifty percent of sales generated from my work has been donated to organizations that focus on breast cancer awareness, outreach and hospice care. "































--->

Bereavement in Education, Creative Responses to Death and Bereavement, University of Western Ontario, London
Cheryl McLean

I recently agreed to teach the Creative Responses to Death and Bereavement course for Spring 2008 which is held as part of the Bereavement Certificate Program through the Centre for Continuing Studies and King's University College, University of Western Ontario. London.

The course was originally developed by the late Dr. John (Jack) Morgan, formerly Principal of King's University College, an international leader in Thanatology education, and is currently taught by Lois Mansfield. "Creative Responses to Death and Bereavement" helps participants explore the arts as therapeutic modalities as well as fostering greater awareness about the spiritual dimension of the arts. Professionals have an opportunity to learn about the interplay of the arts such as writing and narrative, drama, visual arts, dance and body movement as applied in death and bereavement work. Course registrants frequently include nurse educators and teachers, social workers, caregivers and others working in bereavement counselling and education.

“Unlike language, the arts have the potential to express diverse themes simultaneously. Through the arts, one can confront life and death on many levels at once. By engaging in an experience in the arts, people can be assisted as they mourn, grieve, celebrate life: they can overcome fragmentation, and find a sense of meaning in their lives."
Dr. John (Jack) Morgan

I will hope to report more about this course in creative arts and bereavement and the Thanatology Program at King's University College in future posts.

Suggested reading: Morgan, J.D. (1999), "Meeting the Needs of our Clients Creatively: The Impact of Art and Culture on Caregiving", Amityville, N.Y., Baywood.
http://www.amazon.com/Meeting-Needs-Our-Clients-Creatively/dp/0895031930

Visit:
King’s University College Centre for Education about Death and Bereavement
http://www.uwo.ca/kings/academic_programs/centres/deathed/index.html

Continuing Studies, University of Western Ontario
http://www.uwo.ca/cstudies/


Video: Brief clip /Creative Arts in Health, Bereavement C. McLean

http://www.cmclean.com/movies/cheryl-part1.mov

"Living Stories of Hope and Change" http://www.cmclean.com/images/living-stories.pdf

Dance Helps Transform Grief, Performances Healing Journey for Lata Pada

Today in London, Ontario at the Wolf Performance Hall, 251 Dundas at 4:00 Lata Pada and her Toronto troupe and Indian guest artist Satyanarayana Raju will perform a program titled Kshetram (Dancing the Devine). Kshetram fuses devotional poetry with the music and dances of India. A celebration of classical Indian dance, kshetram is comprised of seven pieces that include solos performed by Lata Pada.

In an article this morning in "The London Free Press" James Reaney tells Lata Pada's story of loss and healing and how she has used traditional dance and her own performances as forms of autobiographical expression. Reaney reports, "Lata Pada, of Toronto, lost her husband and both daughters in the 1985 air India terrorist bombing. She transformed her grief into an autobiographical performance that uses music and classical Indian dance to recall her horror and her healing."

"At its heart," says Pada, "Kshetram is based on a spiritual journey, on the notion that our life

on Earth here is only a journey to ultimate realization."

In addition to Kshetram, Dancing the Devine, Pada has performed other personally transformative dances. At the website, Dancing our Stories Personal Narratives from Dance Animation, http://people.uleth.ca/~scds.secd/dos/lpprinter.html , she writes, " Due to my personal history and tragedy in my life, I have experienced the value of dance and art as an important tool to overcome some terrible things that happen in society. Through repeated performances of my work, Revealed by Fire, I have understood the value of the work and seen how people have been transformed by it, how they have been moved to make some positive changes in their lives. This work has not only given me a new meaning in my life, but it has provided a great understanding of the transcendental value of art."

excerpts included from James Reaney, London Free Press Article, "Dancing the Devine a Sunday Delight",Sunday, June 17, 2007, London Free Press

Dancing our Stories Personal Narratives from Dance Animation

http://people.uleth.ca/~scds.secd/dos/lpprinter.html

More information about Lata Pada http://www.sampradaya-dance.com/about_director.html