WPSU webinar addresses grief support services for underserved communities
Great writeup in Penn State News about the on-going impact of the Speaking Grief initiative. Read it here.
WPSU earns four 2022 regional Emmy award nominations
Grateful to be part of the talented team at WPSU and excited to see the pilot episode of Adventures in Privy Digging, a digital limited series I produced/wrote/directed, nominated for a 2022 Mid-Atlantic Emmy.
Watch the full series here.
Take Note: Katie Kostorhyz on Prolonged Grief Disorder
Prolonged grief disorder, or PGD, is now a diagnosable medical condition. Is this a win for grieving people who are yearning to be taken seriously by healthcare providers and employers? Or, is it a way to pathologize—even profit from—a normal human experience?
Dr. Katie Kostohryz, a licensed professional counselor and an associate teaching professor in Counselor Education & Rehabilitation at Penn State, talks with @wpsu’s Lindsey Whissel Fenton about the diagnosis and its criteria.
“The APA talks about this is a form of grief that is persistent pervasive and interferes with functioning. So, it’s basically looking at functional impairment that exceeds their cultural, social, religious norms. It doesn’t mean that people feeling grief should be over their grief in a year.”
Dr. Kostohryz discusses the pros and cons of this diagnosis as well as what it means for grieving people. She acknowledges this can add a layer of confusion to the already difficult experience of grieving.
“Grief is universal, but it’s very unique in our response. There’s many [people who wonder] ‘Am I doing grief wrong? How long is too long? Is there something wrong with me?’”
Dr. Kostohryz says the addition of PGD to the DSM-5 does open some doors that could have positive implications.
“I think one of the benefits is that now we can do more research… we have the language, we have the criteria, we can figure out what are best practices to support people.”
Dr. Kostohryz wants grieving people to know, “It’s okay to feel these things and it’s okay to ask for help.”
Listen to the full interview: https://radio.wpsu.org/2022-07-29/take-note-katie-kostohryz-on-prolonged-grief-disorder
Take Note: Jason Doll on the increased suicide risk for veterinary professionals
One out of 6 veterinarians have contemplated suicide.
Dr. Jason Doll, a veterinarian with Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice, talks with @wpsu’s Lindsey Whissel Fenton about the mental health crisis in this industry and some of the stressors that contribute to it.
“Some of the contributing factors include accessibility to care, the emotional toll of that accessibility of care of allocation of resources, [debt to] income ratio for both veterinarians and for veterinary technicians, as well as euthanasia being a completely acceptable form of treatment and, especially as of late, COVID restrictions.”
Dr. Doll says he chose to work with animals because he loves people.
“Attached to every animal there’s a human that really cares about them. That’s what makes it messy. The people are the best, but then they can also make situations the worst.”
Compared with the general public, male veterinarians are 2.1 times more likely to take their own lives and female vets are 3.5 times more likely.
“It makes it very, very scary and very real. And, honestly I didn’t realize the impact this has until one of my classmates died by suicide.”
Dr. Doll also discusses some of the organizations working to provide education and support for veterinary professionals.
Listen to the full interview here.
Take Note: Joél Simone Anthony on the challenges and rewards of a career in the funeral industry
“I was definitely very morbidly curious… I played funeral home with my cousins.”
As a licensed funeral director and sacred grief practitioner, Joél Simone Anthony helps guide individuals and organizations through difficult conversations about death, dying, end of life, funeral and burial planning. Her professional approach is rooted in ancient and ancestral wisdom passed down generation to generation.
“My life and my work is a form of self-fulfilling prophecy I also believe it is a part of ancestral legacy, as well as ancestral fulfillment of destiny.”
Ms. Anthony considers it her life’s work to educate everyone, regardless of their faith, race, age, or status, that death, dying, and grief are a sacred and transformative part of our journeys as human beings. She talked with WPSU’s Lindsey Whissel Fenton about her lifelong fascination with death and dying and about the challenges and rewards of a career in the funeral industry.
“We’re on call 24/7 or we’re missing milestone events with our family or holidays, with our families or becoming isolated internally…The demands on our physical bodies are astronomical. Caskets aren’t light. Deceased individuals aren’t light. Flowers weigh a lot. So, there’s so many things there’s so many factors that I think contribute to burnout…We’re taking on everyone else’s everything, and then we start to self medicate or participate in self harming behavior and you get into this spiral.”
Ms. Anthony notes the particular challenges death care professionals have faced as a result of the pandemic.
“It’s unnatural to walk into a room and see bodies literally stacked from the floor to the ceiling [from COVID].”
She notes that the pandemic has served as a catalyst for change.
“I think, as an industry, COVID woke us up to a lot of things and now funeral homes corporations and schools are incorporating not necessarily education about mental health.”
Listen to the full interview here.
Virtual Field Trip to the WPSU Studio
I had so much fun being part of this virtual field trip to WPSU’s own studio and explaining what a producer does.
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