Aug. 2006 - Conference on Loss, Mourning and Renewal Marks the Fifth Anniversary of September 11th

San Francisco CA - August 30, 2006 -- Experts from the fields of psychiatry and psychology will gather to explore the topics of grief, loss and renewal on September 9, 2006 at 9 am at the Laurel Heights Conference Center in San Francisco, California. The focus of the conference - those who struggle to cope with loss and also those who help us to cope - will mark the 5th anniversary of September 11th.

"As we approach the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, we are learning more about resilience in the face of tragedy," said conference speaker Dr. David Spiegel. "Constructing a sense of community, sharing a common loss, upholding important values and helping one another provides a path out of the darkness."

Alliant International University and the Dan Bilmes Memorial Fund will host the half-day event, with experts from UCSF, Stanford and Alliant University speaking on topics from mourning to group support. "A full life inevitably holds painful losses," says Dr. Murray Bilmes, who will lecture on "The Wounded Spirit: Loss, Mourning & Change." "At the same time, the fullness of our lives is molded by how we mourn those losses." As a professor of psychology in the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant University and the founder director of its Psychoanalytic Psychology & Psychoanalysis postdoctoral program, Bilmes has devoted his professional life to his private practice, and serving the academic community as a lecturer, consultant and clinical supervisor.

Dr. Mardi J. Horowitz’s talk, "Normal Mourning and Complicated Grief Disorders," will cover the normal and pathological aspects of mourning. Dr. Horowitz has received numerous awards for his work in psychiatry, including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies.

Dr. David Spiegel, the Jack, Lulu, & Sam Willson Professor in the School of Medicine at Stanford University, will lecture on "Detoxifying Dying: Lessons from Group Support for Patients with Cancer." Dr. Speigel says, "Our research with women facing death from breast cancer, and our internet studies of responses to 9/11, show us that open confrontation with fears, including dying and death, in an emotionally supportive environment, builds strength rather than despair. As one patient put it, facing and grieving losses is like looking into the Grand Canyon when you are afraid of heights - you feel better about yourself because you are able to look. Our culture overvalues conquest and denial of danger. Resilience requires facing losses and limitations, being good losers rather than false winners."

The Loss & Mourning Conference is open to the public, but is especially recommended for mental health professionals, hospice workers, and ministers who provide counseling and pastoral care.

For More Information

• Attending the conference - Click this link or call the Alliant Continuing Education Department toll free at (800) 457-1273
• Registration - accepted  as long as space is available.
• Credit - Continuing education credit will be provided for psychologists, social workers and marriage and family therapists (BBS #PCE234), and nurses (BRN#CEP11235). Alliant is approved by the American Psychological Association to offer continuing education credit and maintains responsibility for this program.