Dr. Joanne Cacciatore is a professor of Social Work at Arizona State University, and founder of both Sealah Carefarm and the MISS foundation. As both a bereaved parent and an internationally recognised expert in traumatic bereavement, Dr. Jo speaks from across perspectives as a grief advocate, researcher, and educator. She is also a bestselling author and featured in Oprah and Prince Harry’s Docuseries The Me You Don’t See on Apple TV.

In this episode Dr. Jo speaks to the added difficulties faced by bereaved people who are forced to grieve in dominant cultural contexts which are unable to make adequate space for discomfort, pain, or suffering. Reflecting on the impact of societal wide negative grief cognitions on bereaved individuals, Dr. Jo also shares practical insights for how grief supporters may reframe their efforts to care for community members. Finally, in an exploration of the somatic impacts of grief and trauma on the body and overall wellbeing, Dr. Jo reflects on learnings from both her lived experience and extensive research into a range of beneficial supports for grieving individuals.