Thrive With Your Family: Coping With Loss and Grief

Experts discuss honoring loved ones lost to COVID-19 and the disproportionate impact the pandemic has had on communities of color.
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A nationally recognized panel of Michigan Medicine specialists tackle stressors, concerns and difficulties families face in the ever-changing environment of the current global pandemic. With candid conversations on parenting, the group addresses child behavior, mental health and relationships. Find all the episodes here.

With a global pandemic like COVID-19, it's no surprise that the topic of loss and grief arise. At the same time, it's irresponsible and insensitive to not acknowledge the greater effect this has had on marginalized communities throughout the country. As child and adolescent clinical psychologist Polly Gipson, Ph.D., so eloquently stated, we are living "a collective trauma with a disproportionate impact [on people of color]." 

In the seventh episode of Thrive With Your Family, Gipson joins as a guest panelist to help discuss the topic of loss and grief related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Themes covered include:

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  • Honoring lost loved ones and addressing disproportionate impact on communities of color. (4:05)

  • How sadness and grief related to COVID-19 loss may be getting pushed aside out of anger and grief over the unbalanced loss of black lives during the pandemic. (7:33)

  • Emotional support from afar for family and friends who have lost a loved one due to COVID-19. (12:21)

  • Creating activation and change when health care providers, families that have lost loved ones and protestors alike are exhausted and grieving. (19:08)

  • How to ensure a feeling of connectedness and understanding while having structural limitations in place. (30:54)

  • Help with coping and support within the community when some strategies have been taken away, such as going to church or going to gym classes. (33:00)

  • How to talk with children about loss of a loved one (37:05)

Find resources, such as books and videos, to help you talk with your children about loss, grief and race/racism.

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