INTERNATIONAL DEATH, GRIEF, AND BEREAVEMENT CONFERENCE
A page within INTERNATIONAL DEATH, GRIEF, AND BEREAVEMENT CONFERENCE
Fractured Grief: Family Conflict, Estrangement & Division After Loss
Pre-conference: June 6, 2027
Conference: June 7–9, 2027
STUDENT UNION
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse | 521 East Avenue N | La Crosse, WI USA
Who should attend
Behavioral Health Professionals • Case Managers • Clergy • Counselors • Educators • Funeral Directors • Healthcare Professionals • Hospice Providers • Palliative Care Providers • Program Directors • Social Workers
How you will benefit:
• Share in intimate and transformative educational experiences.
• Foster new relationships and connections to stay with you through your career.
• Gain insight and grow to new levels both personally and professionally.
Conference focus
Grief rarely happens in isolation. Loss can expose long-standing fractures or create new conflict as families navigate shifting roles, loyalties, cultural expectations, and unresolved wounds. This conference examines how family dynamics—including evolving definitions of family and the bonds formed with chosen family and companion animals—shape the grieving process, identity, and pathways to healing.
We welcome submissions addressing:
- Conflict, estrangement, rivalry, and division in grief and bereavement
- Grieving in high-conflict or fragmented family systems
- Cultural, intergenerational, and global perspectives on family, loss, and ritual
- Ethical dilemmas in caregiving, decision-making, and end-of-life conflict
- Supporting those grieving outside traditional family structures
- The role of pets and companion animals in grief and family identity
- Communication and reconciliation approaches for divided families
- Clinical, community, research, or lived-experience perspectives on relational healing
NBCC
NBCC Approved Continuing Education ProviderUniversity of Wisconsin-La Crosse Graduate & Extended Learning has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider™, ACEP No. 6303. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Graduate & Extended Learning is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
Planning Committee
• Gerry Cox, Ph.D., UW-La Crosse, Emeritus
• Dan Festa, Ph.D., Pastor
• Debra Joy Hart, RN, Grief Coach, Author
• Laurel Elizabeth Hilliker, Ph.D., FT, Sociologist
• Karen McGarvey, UW-La Crosse
• Amber Miller-Adamany, UW-La Crosse
• Laura E. Roach, LPC, NCC, BC-TMH
• Erica Srinivasan, Ph.D., UW-La Crosse (credentialing)
• Andrew Vitale, CT, Author
