Learn skills to help men and women who have experienced the loss of a child

Sterling, VA (April 29, 2020) — Divine Mercy University has partnered with Life Perspectives to offer a virtual reproduction grief care training on Saturday, May 2 from 12pm ET to 1:30pm ET. The purpose of this event is to teach participants how to support women, men and families who have experienced reproductive loss. 

Life Perspectives provides training, research and expertise to health professionals and other care providers to offer support after reproductive loss including miscarriage and abortion. Life Perspectives is approved by the National Association of Social Workers and California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to grant continuing education units for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs and LEPs, and maintains responsibility for its programs. 

In this training, participants will 1) broaden their understanding of grief and loss after miscarriage and abortion, 2) gain essential knowledge and empathetic listening skills, 3) learn how to be a safe place for hurting men and women, and 4) provide healing resources and next steps.

Michaelene Fredenburg, President and CEO of Life Perspectives, will serve as the instructor. She is a well-known expert on reproductive loss and the founder of Life Perspectives. Interviewed on more than 100 radio and television programs, Fredenburg is author of the book Changed: Making Sense of Your Own or A Loved One’s Abortion Experience (available in English, Spanish, Italian, Russian and Ukrainian) and the booklet “Hope After Loss” that discusses miscarriage. Fredenburg is also editor of Grief and Abortion: Creating a Safe Place to Heal and has written numerous articles about reproductive grief and loss.

“There are so many people who live with deep, unresolved wounds, as a result of one or multiple pregnancy losses,” said Fredenburg. “Life Perspectives is here to make it culturally acceptable to acknowledge and listen to men and women who are impacted by reproductive loss. While there is no magical formula for grieving, research shows that acknowledging the loss and offering support lays the foundation for a healthy grieving process. With our training, mental health professionals and others affiliated with Divine Mercy University will learn how to be a safe haven for past and future losses.”

According to Life Perspectives, 2 million couples experience reproductive loss in the U.S. each year – with one out of four pregnancies ending in miscarriage and one out of four women undergoing an abortion by the age of 45. Although each of these losses occur very differently, the grieving experience is similar and widespread, affecting women, men, family members, and friends.

“We’ve partnered with Life Perspectives to help provide healing to countless families who are suffering from the pain and trauma of pregnancy loss,” said Fr. Charles Sikorsky, LC, JD, JCL, president of Divine Mercy University. “Divine Mercy University has been blessed to be able to partner with Life Perspectives, a wonderful organization dedicated to both helping people through reproductive grief and training others to do the same. I believe that our mission at DMU aligns with their goal to provide refuge and compassion for women and families; all while respecting their dignity and mental wellbeing. This training is an excellent opportunity for therapists and others who want to help those whose experience this unfortunate, yet common, experience.”

This training is open to the general public. To register, visit divinemercy.edu/training-general-public/. For more information, please email communciations@divinemercy.edu. 

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About Divine Mercy University

Divine Mercy University (DMU) is a Catholic graduate institution of higher education offering degree programs in psychology and counseling. Founded in 1999 as the Institute for the Psychological Sciences, the university is dedicated to the scientific study of psychology with a Catholic understanding of the human person, marriage, and the family. The university offers Master of Science (M.S.) degrees in Psychology and Counseling, and a Doctoral (Psy.D.) degree in Clinical Psychology.

Divine Mercy University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award masters and doctorate degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the accreditation of Divine Mercy University.

The IPS doctoral program in clinical psychology (Psy.D.) is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of the American Psychological Association (APA). *Questions related to the program’s accredited status should be directed to the Commission on Accreditation: Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation American Psychological Association 750 1st Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Phone (202)-336-5979 / Email: apaaccred@apa.org / Web: www.apa.org/ed/accreditation

About Life Perspectives

Life Perspectives provides training, research and expertise to health professionals and other care providers to offer support after reproductive loss including miscarriage and abortion. Life Perspectives specializes in training caregivers, including hospitals, medical professionals, therapists, social workers, pregnancy centers and the clergy, to support others through our certified gold standard of care. 

Life Perspectives is at the forefront of creating impartial, factual research to understand the way humans process abortion and miscarriage. Life Perspectives also offers a safe place, without religious or political affiliation, for those impacted by miscarriage and abortion at MiscarriageHurts.com and AbortionChangesYou.com. 

For more information on Life Perspectives, visit www.lifeperspectives.com.