Keynote Information
Thursday, April 8
8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m.
Metaphor and Mortality: The Narrative Arc between the Living and the Dead
Thomas Lynch
”Metaphor and Mortality: The Narrative Arc between the Living and the Dead” will examine the ways in which humans have, for tens of thousands of years, sought to "deal with Death” (the idea of the thing) by dealing with their dead (the thing itself). Our stories -- as species and specimen -- are all "the same but different," "ridiculous and sublime," laden with myth and meaning and humanity. Thus, the rituals we devise to get the dead where they need to go actually assist the living in getting where they need to be; and by acting out the essential narratives about "being and ceasing to be," are an indispensable measure of our culture.
Thomas Lynch
Essayist, poet and funeral director of Lynch & Sons funeral home in Milford, Michigan. He is regularly featured on the op-ed page of The New York Times, The Boston Globe and The Times of London, as well as in the pages of Harper's and has appeared on C-SPAN, MSNBC, the NBC Today Show and the PBS series "On Our Own Terms."
Friday, April 9
8:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m.
The Labyrinth of Life, Stories Told and Untold
Britt Hysing-Dahl, MA
In today’s highly scientific, evidence-based world governed by logic, society often overlooks the emotions and intuition needed for planning on behalf of the elderly, ill and dying. In this presentation, we’ll explore the Labyrinth, a tool for understanding our cognitive approach to death and dying—the “head level”—and our intuitions and emotional approaches to the subject, the “heart level.” When we as individuals, and as a society, can bring head and heart together is when we can best address matters of caring for the sick and dying. This presentation will also discuss Norway’s cultural approach to eldercare and the challenges facing the world as the elderly population grows.
Britt Hysing-Dahl
Britt Hysing-Dahl is considered a pioneer within the field of hospice and palliative care in Norway. She is a social worker by profession, and has had considerable experience working internationally with economically underprivileged people, before focusing on the area of Hospice Care. She has been the CEO of the Norwegian Cancer Society, Western Norway, and until recently, was the CEO of the largest nursing home in Norway for 16 years. In addition she had a role as a City Counsellor of Bergen. Due to a serious cancer surgery a few years back, she decided to leave her professional career, and is now a happy pensioner working on her book The Labyrinth of Life.
Saturday, April 10
3:45 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Loss, Grief and the Reconstruction of Meaning
Robert Neimeyer, PhD
Even after the immediate emotional impact of a loss has faded, the death of someone close to us can disrupt the assumptions that allow us to make meaning of life. In this presentation, we will explore concepts and methods that help us to listen beneath the story that people tell themselves and others about their loss, to metaphorically help clients examine more deeply the felt experience of that loss and its implications for their self-narrative. We’ll consider how sudden and violent death can disrupt the basic narrative of our lives and explore how we can help clients to find the seeds of restoration and future growth. Citing new models and findings concerning the role of sense making about the loss and anchoring these in case studies, we will close by suggesting strategies for facilitating the reconstruction of meaning in the context of grief therapy.
Robert Neimeyer, PhD
Professor and director of psychotherapy research in the Department of Psychology, University of Memphis, editor of two respected international journals, Death Studies and the Journal of Constructivist Psychology and a former president of ADEC. The author of over 300 articles and book chapters, he is currently working to advance a more adequate theory of grieving as a meaning-making process.