Register for…
Talking to Your Clients about Death
Friday, November 13, 2026: 10:00 to 11:30 am
Join therapist Lior Effinger-Weintraub, LICSW, and death educator Eli Effinger-Weintraub, for a comprehensive introduction to a complex topic: how to talk to your clients about death.
When clients bring up the topic of death, it can overwhelm our training and experience. We may find ourselves at a loss for words, our own anxiety and discomfort leading us to avoid the topic. We may worry that talking about death may increase a client’s depressive symptoms or suicidal ideation. We may fall back onto aphorisms or cultural beliefs that do not align with our client’s lived experience.
This webinar is designed to destigmatize the topic of death. We’ll unpack the ways our own feelings about death influence how we show up for our clients. We’ll talk about the many different situations where client thoughts of death may come into the therapy session and how to respond to them in the most caring and supportive ways. You’ll learn about advanced care planning and other logistical concerns that can help ease client anxiety and increase their sense of preparedness. We’ll talk about grief and loss, and introduce some of the ways that spirituality and culture may influence your client’s feelings about death.
Death is part of life. Building the knowledge and confidence to engage in conversations about death will enrich your therapeutic work and give you more tools to help your client’s live richer and more meaningful lives.
Objectives:
Participants will:
- Explore their own thoughts, feelings, and comfort with the topic of death in order to hold space for the complexity of client experiences of death
- Build a working knowledge of death-related paperwork and logistical concerns
- Learn where to access applicable forms and how to help clients complete them
- Become familiar with several models of grief
- Be able to name and describe a variety of spiritual and cultural lenses that may color their clients’ thoughts and feeling about death.
Social Working Queer LLC has applied for continuing education approval from the MN Board of Social Work.
