Talk+Art Therapy Experiential: "Well-Meaning But Hurtful" Rethinking How We Support Loss

"What do I say?", "Will I say the wrong thing?", "Am I making it worse?" — these are common questions many people ask themselves when supporting someone through grief and loss. In this talk, Jolene Chiang — a registered Art Therapist and certified Thanatologist who worked at the first national grief counselling centre and has supported hundreds of individuals through all types of loss — shares clinical insights alongside the voices of the bereaved she has worked with.

Drawing on clinical experience, anecdotes, and research, you will explore what is helpful versus what is not, and experience an arts-based reflection to build practical, compassionate skills for supporting the bereaved.

Jolene Chiang offers individual therapy, supervision and training consultancy to organisations on grief, loss and bereavement. She also conducts professional training workshops on Trauma-Informed Art Therapy with Academy of Human Development.

She has been featured on CNA938 for leading the first national grief community art exhibition, and has spoken as an invited speaker at Esplanade Singapore on the topic of suicide grief and bereavement.

She specialises in grief, loss and bereavement and is well-established in Singapore for providing therapy, counselling to individuals, families and training social service professionals. Jolene has provided grief therapy to hundreds of individuals experiencing death and non-death losses across terminal illness, accidents, suicide, homicide, pre-natal loss, as well as divorce and gender transitions.

She was the Project and Creative Director of Singapore's first nation-wide art exhibition titled, Tapestries of Grief: Witnessing through Art Therapy held at Plaza Singapura, garnering 450 artworks from bereaved individuals, families and healthcare workers - acknowledging that healthcare professionals grieve too, especially at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.