Episode 139: The Relationship Between Grief and Creativity with Cath Duncan and Kara Jones

Topics We Explored:

• How dealing with loss can help you connect to your own physical body, as well as connect with other people
• Why creativity and grief can go hand and hand, and how you can use grief to enhance your own creativity
• How using the Assumptive World idea as a sense of security in the grieving process can help you review your priorities
• How to differentiate between grief and the various nuances of shame
• Why creativity doesn’t necessarily manifest in the form of “art”, but rather in the process of making or envisioning something
• How to deal with grief (even if that means not dealing with your grief), and exploring the idea that all ways of grieving are human, normal, and acceptable

“There’s such a wide range of different ways people make their way through life after loss. Do what makes sense to you.” – Cath Duncan (Tweet this)

Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:

• Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
• Episode 113: Grief is a Natural Part of Life
• Brené Brown
• Episode 58: How to Heal After the Loss of a Partner with Kristin Meekhof
• The Other Side of Sadness by Dr. George Bonanno

A Note From Charlie:

In recording today’s episode there were some technical difficulties and times when the audio is distorted or has feedback. We did the best we could to edit the worst parts out, and while the audio quality is not what it could or should be, it’s hard to recapture the magic of a deep, organic conversation.

About Cath Duncan and Kara Jones:

Cath Duncan has a Masters in Clinical Social Work with a background in Child Protection, Trauma Debriefing and counseling for chronic stress, anxiety, and Depression. Cath helps bereaved people to live wholeheartedly after loss at RememberingForGood.com, and co-curates an educational website about the option to bring stillborn and deceased babies home at WhenYourBabyDies.com. Cath is the author of the Remembering For Good Grief Workbook. Together with Kara Jones, she is a Founder of TheCreativeGriefStudio.com, where they’re training social workers, clergy, therapists, hospice workers, funeral directors, nurses, and life coaches in a grief support approach that utilizes shame resilience research, conversational creativity and heART-making.

Kara LC Jones is mother to three dead sons, a living son and daughter, and four amazing grandchildren. She is a Carnegie Mellon graduate and certified as both Appreciative Inquiry/Whole Systems Coach (with emphasis on The Hero’s Journey as key model) and is a Reiki Master-Teacher. She is author of the books Mrs. Duck and Woman, 1000 Permissions Granted, and contributor to others such as They Were Still Born, Living With Grief. She is co-founder of both KotaPress and the Creative Grief Studio. Through the CreativeGriefStudio.com, and in partnership with Cath Duncan, she offers creative grief education for professionals through a 4-month certification program and Short Courses for Professional Development. In her private practice, she is the coach and heARTist behind the works at GriefAndCreativity.com.

Thanks for Listening!

Subscribe to Productive Flourishing on iTunes to get all the latest episodes delivered straight to your preferred mobile device. This is the perfect option for listening to the show in the car, on the subway, or while you’re working out. Plus, you won’t have to fuss with figuring out how you’re going to listen.