In this pre-conference interview, the Grief and Bereavement Conference Singapore (GBCS) organising committee chair, Ms Candice Tan, reflects on the conference’s theme, “Embracing Diversity, Innovating Practice”
Ms Candice Tan is a Principal Medical Social Worker at Tan Tock Seng Hospital. With 15 years of experience, she has been providing and developing psychosocial care within the community for patients and families impacted by chronic and serious illnesses. She also actively contributes to capability building for social work practice in loss, grief, palliative and end-of-life care. With her keen interest in grief and bereavement, Candice has been involved with GBCS since its first edition.
How has your perception of grief shifted as you gained experience at work?
I’ve met a variety of bereaved individuals and families, who taught me the value of first connecting with them where they are and not viewing grief as a problem to be solved.
I once came across an analogy about grieving being akin to a fractured bone. There is a natural healing process that we might need to support, perhaps with a cast. In situations where complexities arise, we might need to undergo medical procedures to help get the bone back on its healing trajectory.
Grief is the natural response of our bodies, minds and hearts to loss. Support and therapeutic interventions are not intended to stop people from grieving. Rather, it is to develop new perspectives and skills as well as adaptive ways to manage that natural grieving process, enabling them to move through the healing journey.
How did the GBCS theme come about?
The organising committee, which represented many professions in the field, met to express our wishes for the sector. The theme for GBCS 2024, “Embracing Diversity, Innovating Practice”, reflects our journey thus far and our continuous aspirations to better serve those we care for and to build an inclusive community that honours the voice of grief. Tthe conference will provide an invaluable opportunity to connect individuals and groups while advancing the philosophy, values, and evidence-based approaches to enhancing effective support for those touched by the profound experience of loss, grief and death.
Why is it important to embrace diversity and innovation in grief and bereavement support?
Our society today is one of social, cultural and spiritual diversity. Although grief is universal, how people navigate loss and assimilate this experience can be very different. The difference lies across cultures and ethnicities, faith and beliefs, social norms and traditions, and special needs and learning abilities.
Therefore, it is imperative for professionals to be equipped with the knowledge, skills and confidence to take a sensitive and supportive approach to such life transitions. It calls for comprehensive and multidimensional lenses to develop relevant responses and interventions to diverse needs. It also involves strengthening responsible and ethical practices that critically examine personal values, contextual features, institutional policies, bereavement procedures and guidelines, systemic issues, emerging social trends, and the ever-evolving space of technology and social media, which would impact the provision of grief and bereavement care.
Society is continually changing preconceived perceptions and shaping our collective narrative of loss. In tandem, innovating approaches in grief and bereavement support can take place at various levels for health and social care providers. On the practice front, it could mean introducing new and improved ways of therapeutic modalities and techniques, implementing evidence-based and sustainable models of service delivery, transforming care guided by research, data, and social informatics, or leveraging on technological advancements to enhance our offerings. It may also involve advocating for changes within systems and organisations, developing a policy on grief, or driving efforts increase awareness and raise grief and death literacy among the public.
Aside from healthcare professionals, who else in the community should have the expertise to help grieving people?
What is clear is that most of us will experience the loss of someone important at some point in our lives. Everyone around a bereaved and grieving person can help them in some way, no matter how big or small. It takes a community — a whole-of-society approach — to provide sensitive and compassionate support. From the months before and those right after a death occurs, the multiple touch points at which a grieving individual will interface with the health system, emergency medical services, religious groups, town councils, funeral directors, government departments, the insurance industry, telecommunications services, the merchants at the food centre, the usual grocer or marketplace, the legal system, neighbours, friends, schoolmates, or fellow colleagues —each of these interactions can contribute to the eventual bereavement experience.
How can everyone be equipped with these skills?
Empower grassroots leaders and volunteers to have open and honest conversations about grief and bereavement in their constituencies. Train first responders to identify and attend to those in need. Ensure equitable access to resources and aid in bereavement. Implement grief-friendly policies and initiatives at workplaces and in faith communities. Include life-and-death education in the curriculum. These are just a few initiatives to start with.
This thinking is behind our deliberation for the GBCS 2024 scientific programme. We will be joined by academics, government agencies, schools, religious representatives, funeral directors, volunteers, and bereaved voices, in addition to clinicians and practitioners from the health and social sectors.