The Neurobiology of Grieving

The Neurobiology of Grieving

Date

Aug 29 2023
Expired!

Time

7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Facilitated by John Delfs, MD. We build and continually update a working model of us and our world – our Mind World – in our brain. When a big change occurs in our lives, such as losing a loved one, our Mind World initially can’t even believe it. That’s because that person, including our hopes and expectations for that person and our relationship with that person in the future, has been so central in our lives. The reality of that person and our relationship with them is learned – and wired firmly in our brain. But to survive and function, we must gradually rewire our brains so that our Mind World accurately reflects this new external reality. Grieving is our experience, including our initial disbelief and all the associated feelings that accompany this work our brain is doing to accept and learn a new external reality. This work of updating our Mind Map includes preserving and reworking our memories of our loved ones and all the ways we must adapt to find a way to survive and, hopefully, eventually, to thrive.

When: August 29, 7-8 PM EST

Where: Online via Zoom

Cost: FREE! Reserve your spot on Pinelawn’s Eventbrite Page

More about John: John founded Good Wolf based on the belief that people everywhere should be able to benefit from understanding themselves better through neuroscience. He serves as Good Wolf’s neuroscientist-in-residence, leads the Good Wolf team, and is responsible for overall strategic and programmatic direction and content development.

John is a physician, scientist, educator, and healthcare leader whose career has spanned behavioral neurology and neuroscience, internal and geriatric medicine, hospice and palliative care, and medical ethics. A graduate of Tulane University and Harvard Medical School, he received his postgraduate training in Internal Medicine at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and in Neurology at the Harvard-Longwood Neurology Program. His neuroscience research focused on the effects of neurotransmitters and neuromodulators on mammalian cortical neuronal systems in vitro. He was Chair of Geriatric Medicine at Deaconess Hospital, founding Medical Director of the Sherrill House Alzheimer’s Program, and founding Director of Deaconess ElderCare. At Harvard Medical School he served as Assistant Professor of Medicine and Neurology and at the Harvard School of Public Health as Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Management. While serving as Chair of the Subcommittee on Dementia of the Ethics and Humanities Committee of the American Academy of Neurology, he authored and lobbied successfully for the passage of the Massachusetts Health Care Proxy Act. He later served as a Healthcare Policy Fellow with the U.S. Senate and was honored by the American Medical Association with the annual William Beaumont Award in Medicine in recognition of his “contributions to programs serving frail elders and successful extension of this work into the public sector and legislative spheres.” John has held numerous other leadership roles in healthcare organizations including, most recently and just prior to forming Good Wolf, Chief Medical Officer for Patient Care Services at Visiting Nurse Service of New York.

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Upon registration, you will be sent a confirmation email. To access the online workshop, it is important to use the Eventbrite reminder emails (one will be sent the day of the event) and log into your Eventbrite account to access the online workshop. Although we use the Zoom platform, Eventbrite emails will grant you access to the Zoom meeting. You will not be sent a Zoom link.

For questions, contact Christin Alexander, Community Outreach Coordinator, at calexander@pinelawn.com or 631.249.6100 x120.

Disclaimer: The information shared in this program is not intended to act as a substitute for any legal and mental health advice concerning individual situations; neither Pinelawn Memorial Park or COPE, its Board of Directors, staff and personnel shall be responsible for any outcomes arising from any information or exercises provided in this program.