What the Grief Just Happened? An interview with Sonya Lott, Ph.D, on how COVID has impacted our experience of grief. Curt and Katie talk with Sonya about the types of grief people are experiencing and how people have been coping thus far. We explore what prolonged grief is and the risk factors that contribute to it as well as tips to support clients. We also talk about the need for therapists to be informed on grief processes and the importance of meeting clients where they are.  It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age.   Interview with Sonya Lott, Ph.D, Founder of CEMPSYCH, LLC Sonya Lott has a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Temple University. She been licensed as a psychologist in PA since 1991. Since 2020, she has been licensed to provide telepsychology in more than 16 states through the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Board’s (ASPPB) PSYPACT program. She maintains a private online practice devoted to helping individuals transform their experiences of traumatic and prolonged grief. She is trained in Complicated Grief Therapy (CGT), an evidence-based treatment for prolonged grief and is also a certified brainspotting practitioner. She is also the founder of CEMPSYCH, LLC, which offers continuing education in multicultural psychology to mental health professionals. CEMPSYCH, LLC is approved as a sponsor by the APA to provide continuing education to psychologists.   In this episode we talk about: Who Sonya Lott is and what she puts out in the world. Looking at how COVID has impacted our experience of grief (i.e., death and non-death losses). How the uncertainty COVID created has added to our difficulty in acknowledging losses in our lives. Discussion of how clinicians can help their clients (and themselves) recognize and process their grief. Examining how losses to previous COVID, attachment styles, and other risk factors have influenced the way people manage their grief. Defining prolonged grief and recognizing when it is a problem, while making cultural considerations. Factors that have contributed to people developing prolonged grief (e.g., isolation, previous mental health challenges, etc). What clinicians can expect to see from clients as we move into the next phase of our lives. The need for clinicians to be able to differentiate from grief, prolonged grief, and major depression and address each accordingly. Recognizing that the grief people are experiencing is inherently traumatic and integrating this into treatment. Tips for clinicians to help clients who are stuck. Being a grief informed therapist (knowing there are no stages to grief). The importance of meeting people where they at to help them process their grief. Our Generous Sponsor: Buying Time, LLC Buying Time is a full team of Virtual Assistants, with a wide variety of skill sets to support your business. From basic admin support, customer service, and email management to marketing and bookkeeping. They’ve got you covered. Don’t know where to start? Check out the systems inventory checklist which helps business owners figure out what they don’t want to do anymore and get those delegated asap. You can find that checklist at http://buyingtimellc.com/systems-checklist/ Buying Time's VA's support businesses by managing email communications, CRM or automation systems, website admin and hosting, email marketing, social media, bookkeeping and much more. Their sole purpose is to create the opportunity for you to focus on supporting those you serve while ensuring that your back office runs smoothly. With a full team of VA's it gives the opportunity to hire for one role and get multiple areas of support. There's no reason to be overwhelmed with running your business with this solution available. Book a consultation to see where and how you can get started getting