ADEC CONFERENCE
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO
30 MARCH 3 APRIL, 2005
By Robin Jensen
Earlier this year I attended the annual Association for Death Education and Counselling Conference held in Albuquerque, New Mexico from 3oth March to 3rd April. Most conference attendees were from the States but an increasing number are travelling from overseas. Coming from New Zealand it was considered I had travelled the furthest. My journey took me from Auckland to Los Angeles and through Denver to Albuquerque. Surrounded by snow-capped mountain ranges on three sides this turquoise and many shades of brown high desert city of 500,000 is over 6000 feet above sea level and is situated near the Rio Grande the river seen in many John Wayne films. The annual rain fall is around nine inches. Albuquerque claims to be the hot air balloon capital of the world and holds an annual International Balloon Fiesta in October. Fifty miles north-west along Route 66, where the only trees to grow are the ever-green juniper and the deciduous cottonwood, is the quaint town of Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico. Throughout New Mexico, known as the Land of Enchantment, the living traditions of the American Indian are seen in the history, culture, architecture, cuisine and art. New Mexico is the heart of the precious turquoise stone which is mined in the region. The presence of turquoise is seen in many aspects from colour in the architecture and dicor to the stone matched with sterling silver in jewellery.
Held at the Hyatt Regency hotel in the Downtown area of Albuquerque the theme of the Conference was Death and Dying Rituals: Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something True. As a new member and first-time attendee I was invited to a meeting with the ADEC Board of Directors and Committee chairs before the presidents welcoming reception. Over the time of the conference the daily programme was divided into a selection of between four and seven invited speakers and invited panels, up to twenty poster presentations, and a selection of over thirty concurrent sessions including: research reports, practice reports, personal experience, scholarly papers, and experiential workshops of either forty-five or ninety minutes in length. The topics were wide and varied and having narrowed down the choice to three for each session I often found it difficult to reach the final decision. I aimed at keeping a balance between my work as a school guidance counsellor with a focus on youth matters and my work in loss and grief with people all ages.
A variety of special interest groups were held either at the beginning or end of each day. I attended the group on Violence/Trauma/Homicide and my one sadness was that the group met only once. The 13th Annual Silent Auction of unique mementos and up-to-date resources to raise money for students of ADEC provided light-hearted entertainment. Meet the Authors, a reception held on the Friday evening was a great time of putting faces to so many well-known names as well as a time of catching up with some authors whom I have met in New Zealand over recent years Dennis Klass, Phyllis Silverman, Robert Neimeyer. The selection of books on sale, not to mention the price, was beyond belief for a New Zealander. Thankfully, due to careful packing, I was not charged an overweight fee on my return flight with United Airlines. On Saturday I attended the Presidents Luncheon which was followed by the annual Memorial Service. Conference attendees were invited to write names of deceased loved ones on a slip of paper and to come forward and place the paper in baskets. Later these names were recorded in the 2005 Memorial Service Book. Sunday provided an opportunity to worship at an Interfaith Service.
I am sure one of the lasting memories of the conference for me will be the poignant stories told by Harold Ivan Smith at the conclusion of each day and at other times. A moving narrator Harold Ivan Smith is a well-known author and works as the grief educator at Saint Lukes Hospital in Kansas City.
It is the four keynote speakers whose presentations were spread through the conference that I would like to particularly focus on. The first address, given on the opening night, was by Kenneth Moritsugu, MD, MPH, whose topic was Ritual and Mourning: The Gift of Organ Donation. Admiral Kenneth Moritsugu has served as Deputy Surgeon General since 1998 and is the principle advisor to the Surgeon General. Since 1994 he has advocated for organ and tissue donation and transplantation. He is a member of the National Advisory Board for the Minority Organ and Tissue Transplant Educational Programme. Dr Moritsugu lost his wife in 1992 and his daughter in 1996. Both died in vehicle accidents and both were organ and tissue donors.
Dr Moritsugu spoke of his personal experience of the sudden and unexpected loss of his wife and the process he went through to come to the decision to donate her organs. In a severe state of shock, but fully aware through his work of the need of organs for transplantation his decision was made easier by the sensitive and appropriate care shown to him within the hospitals setting. A room was provided for him and his family where their personal needs were taken care of by trained staff. They were given every consideration and, above all, they were given time. Conversely, at the time of his daughters death his experience at a different hospital was poor with little or no thought shown to the needs of a grieving family. There was no consideration for privacy and the family were left to say their goodbyes behind the flimsy shield of a hospital cubicle curtain thus emphasising awareness there are multiple patients to be served and cared for during a crisis.
Dr Moritsugu strongly suggested those who are working with grieving people need to have an understanding how even minor actions and conversations during death, dying, and bereavement can have major consequences for survivors and others. Accordingly he spoke of identifying actions, conversations and environmental adjustments that can assist and uplift survivors through the grieving and recovery process.
During his address Dr Moritsugu spoke of the increasing need for organ and tissue for transplantation worldwide.
The Reverend Michael Piazza, M Div, is a spiritual visionary, author, and social justice advocate who serves currently as Dean and Senior Pastor at the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, Texas, a church that has grown under his leadership from 280 members in 1987 to over 3000 today. Michael Piazza was named by The Advocate as one of the most influential people in the gay and lesbian movement. As one of the first clergy to understand the global impact of AIDS, Michael has conducted more than 1,400 funerals and memorials services. The topic of his presentation was Ritual and Mourning: Who Has Been Left Out?
Michael Piazza spoke about being able to identify insights available from a marginalised community that has suffered the greatest non-war decimation. Ritual is hugely significant in reaching out to a community to survive overwhelming loss. He described restoration measures when an epidemic becomes a chronic illness and identified strategies for dealing with marginalised persons in grief.
The international speaker and highly recognised author Margaret Stroebe PhD, was the third keynote speaker. Her presentation was titled Continuing Bonds in Bereavement: Toward Theoretical Understanding. Margaret Stroebe currently serves as Associate Professor in the Department of Clinical Psychology at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.
Dr Stroebes presentation described research on psychological and physical health consequences of bereavement and considered the meaning of effective coping in the light of research findings. She provided a strong theoretical framework to further understand the important issue of should bonds be continued or relinquished? Her presentation promoted considerable discussion among conferees.
The final keynote address was presented by Barbara Roberts, Rituals and Mourning: Grieving in the Public Eye. Barbara Roberts was the first woman to be elected governor of Oregon serving from 1985-1991. Her husband, Frank Roberts, died from lung cancer half way through her term. Governor Roberts developed a keen appreciation for hospice through their care in the Governors Mansion. During the time of her husbands illness Governor Roberts said she had to look inside herself as well as beyond herself to find ways to survive what felt unbearable. What she learned in the last year of her husbands life and from her experience as a griever in the public eye has led her to conclude: Life is too precious and grieving too important to permit the delegation of dying and mourning to a closeted experience.
Governor Roberts spoke about the change that is happening in the United States in its understanding and, perhaps acceptance, of the dying and grieving process. She emphasised the need to identify the rights and needs we each have to grieve in our own time and in our own way and to be aware of the choices we have medically, emotionally, and practically as we face our own death or the death of a loved one after a terminal diagnosis. Following her address I joined a very long queue to have her book Death without Denial, Grief without Apology: A Guide for Facing Death and Loss, signed personally by the author.
For me the ADEC Conference 2005 was undoubtedly a time of learning, sharing, and meeting new friends many of whom I remain in contact with. The next ADEC Conference the 28th Annual Conference Grief and Loss: Wisdom and Insight will be held from 29th March to 2nd April, 2006 at the Marriott Hotel in Tampa, Florida.
