Supporting Students and Staff Following Sudden, Traumatic Loss (Series Begins Mar. 20, 2025)

For this webinar series, participants will automatically be enrolled in all 5 sessions.

SpeakerS

Description

This webinar focuses on best practices for managing sudden, traumatic loss in schools, with an emphasis on managing suicide loss. Based on the work of Riverside Trauma Center, which has been supporting schools to manage losses for the past 20 years, the course will address strategies for structuring your approach to a loss, provide information on how children at different ages understand death, consider a trauma informed approach to this work, and finally, describe strategies for fostering resilience in the aftermath of traumatic loss and other high stress events. 

To receive PDPs and CEUs, participants must attend all 5 sessions and successfully pass a quiz following Session 5. Following the live webinar, registrants will be emailed a link to view the recorded webinar. The recording will be made available for 7 days after each session.

About the SpeakerS

Larry Berkowitz, Ed.D., (he/him) is Co-Founder and Director of Riverside Trauma Center. He has provided direct therapeutic services for over 30 years and managed mental health services for over 25 years. Clinical areas of expertise include working with children, adolescents, adults, and families who are acute trauma survivors and/or suicide survivors. He coordinates and provides disaster response services and post-suicide intervention for individuals, schools, workplaces, and communities, and conducts trainings on suicide prevention. Dr. Berkowitz holds a doctoral degree in Counseling and Consulting Psychology from Harvard University and is a licensed Psychologist in Massachusetts. He is on the Executive Committee of the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention, held an appointment as a Teaching Associate in Psychology, Part Time, at Harvard Medical School’s Department of Psychiatry and is an Adjunct Instructor at William James College in Newton, Massachusetts where he teaches a course on understanding suicide in the graduate clinical psychology program.

Dr. Berkowitz was a member of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention’s task force on the needs of those bereaved by suicide, supporting the 2012 Surgeon General’s National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. He is a co-author of the Task Force’s report, Responding to Grief, Trauma, and Distress After a Suicide: U.S. National Guidelines, report of Survivors of Suicide Loss Task Force, (2015). Related to crisis response, he helped design and lead four FEMA-funded crisis counseling programs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (post- 9/11; flooding in eastern Massachusetts; tornado recovery in western Massachusetts, Covid-19 pandemic response).

Beth Milaszewski, LICSW, (she/her) is a seasoned clinician with over 15 years of experience in direct service and management roles. Her expertise includes psychotherapy, trauma-informed care, and program development. Beth specializes in substance use disorders and PTSD treatment using EMDR therapy. She has a rich history of founding resilience programs, supporting frontline healthcare workers, and providing critical incident stress management. Beth holds a degree from Boston College and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Massachusetts. Currently, she is the Clinical Manager of Trauma Response at Riverside Trauma Center.

Waheeda Saif, LMHC, (she/her) is the Program Coordinator and Senior Trainer at Riverside Trauma Center. Waheeda has worked with adolescents and adults for over 20 years, providing therapy to survivors of abuse, sexual assault, and domestic violence. She has been at riverside since 2008 providing consultation after traumatic events, as well as conducting trainings on a range of issues regarding trauma and suicide. She served as a Team Leader in Riverside’s FEMA-funded response to tornados in central and western Mass. in 2011. Waheeda is trained specifically in trauma therapy modalities, and holds a graduate degree in Mental Health Counseling from Boston College, where she was also an Adjunct Professor for four years. 

Membership Information

Most MPY webinars are available ONLY to current staff from member districts and organizations. Public school memberships include police and fire personnel. Former and retired employees and members of committees, including but not limited to, PTO/PTA, PAC, School Improvement Councils, Health Councils, Drug/Alcohol Councils, and school volunteers, are not considered MPY members.

PDPs and CEUs

MPY is an approved Professional Development Provider through the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (Provider No. F20180079). Professional Development Points (PDPs) are offered for most MPY professional development webinars. PDPs are issued in 10 hour increments, per DESE requirements.

Continuing Education Units (CEUs) are available for clinical staff through the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and the Massachusetts Mental Health Counselors Association, Inc. (MaMHCA). The NASW and the MaMHCA approve each event individually. CEUs may be given in hourly increments.

To receive PDPs and CEUs, participants must pass the quiz.

Event Cancellation Policy

If you are unable to attend a MPY webinar you must cancel, through Bonnie Mullen at bonnie@mpyinc.org, one business day before the webinar.

For MPY hybrid conferences, the date in-person registration closes will be posted on MPY’s website. Virtual conference registration will close one business day before the hybrid conference. You cannot cancel or switch your registration from in-person to virtual after in-person registration closes. Please email Bonnie Mullen at bonnie@mpyinc.org with any questions regarding registration.