International Work Group on Death, Dying and Bereavement

Looking Back on the 33ʳᵈ IWG Session | Perth 2025

Gathering beneath the winter sky of Walyalup (Fremantle), we acknowledged the Whadjuk Nyoongar people as the Traditional Custodians of the land and honoured their Elders, past and present.

From 22 to 27 June, the International Work Group on Death, Dying & Bereavement met for a week of collegial inquiry and creative exchange on loss and grief. On behalf of all, our chair Philip Larkin expressed our deepest thanks to the local planning committee led by Lauren Breen, to Business Events Perth, Curtin University and Grief Australia, and to every speaker, volunteer and participant who travelled from six continents.

A special word of gratitude to the Nikinpa Art Group: each of us returned home with a hand-painted gum leaf: a small work of art that keeps the week’s spirit of healing close.

Looking Ahead to 2026 | Chrani, Crete

During the closing ceremony, we announced that the 34ᵗʰ session will convene in spring 2026 in Chrani, on Crete’s southern coast. The dialogue continues there, carried by the Aegean breeze and the island’s rich cultural heritage. Stay tuned for updates!

Members of the Planning Committee: Lauren Breen, June Allan, Meg Chin, Christopher Hall, Bianca Lavorgna, Liz Lobb, Dianne McKissock, Mal McKissock, Danny Nugus, Irene Renzenbrink, and Diana Sands.

Celebrating work and friendship

On the evening before the end of the week, we gather for an informal gala dinner.

The Bathers Beach House was the perfect location for our get-together, with wonderful swing music by Voudou Zazoo and dancing after dinner!

Honor

The IWG has been presenting the Herman Feifel Award regularly since 2005.

American psychologist Herman Feifel was born in Brooklyn, New York, on November 4, 1915. He was internationally recognized as a pioneering figure in the modern death movement. His personal and research efforts helped break the prevailing taboo that discouraged scientific study of death and dying. His work transformed the way people think about death, treat the dying and bereaved, and view their own lives.

The Feifel Award recognizes exceptional achievement in thanatology on the part of individuals (as opposed to organizations) who have made distinctive contributions to the field, usually of a longstanding nature. Criteria for such recognition of merit encompass all forms of achievement in the field, whether clinical, organizational or scholarly, in keeping with the spirit of our organization.

Mary Vachon, who received the award herself in 2018, presented the 2025 Herman Feifel Award to Stephen Connor.

Stephen - Executive Director of the Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance - has made a significant contribution as a pioneer to the establishment of hospices in the United States and to the knowledge of palliative care worldwide.

Stephen received the award digitally. At the next meeting, we will raise a glass to this wonderful recognition. Congratulations Stephen!

Hard work and hard play

The week of the gathering is hard work. Eleven 1.5-hour sessions, keynote speeches in the plenary, meetings in between, sometimes even more meetings in the evenings en mornings and preparations for the work in the subgroups.

In the middle of the week, afternoon excursions are organized so we can enjoy the surroundings and each other's company.

One group of participants took a wonderful tour of some of Swan Valley's renowned vineyards. We enjoyed the hospitality... and the wine!

There is so much to learn!

Developments in our field are constantly evolving. Over the decades, new areas of research have emerged, such as non-death-related loss and grief.

A particularly interesting new area of research is what has come to be known as ecological grief.

The loss or decline of important places, species or ecosystems can lead to a form of grieving for the past, present and future. These losses affect our relationships to nature and place, and they can disrupt personal and cultural identity and knowledge systems. Ecological grief is a natural, legitimate response to the loss of landscapes, species, and facets of nature that are important to us.

The third plenary speaker this week was Dr. Claudia Benham, affiliated with the Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science at The University of Queensland.

With her keynote 'Understanding Ecological Grief to Enable Climate Action,' she presented challenging insights about climate change and the experiences of loss and grief in an inspiring way.

Celebrating together

Tom Attig is one of the 'wise pillars' of IWG. He has attended 20 of the meetings in the past decades. His work in the field of loss and grief has inspired countless people in their work and lives.

Together with his wife Bettie Davies, who is also a member, he is an indispensable member of our community.

Tom is turning 80! We celebrated with cake and singing!

Congratulations Tom, and we hope to enjoy many more years of your friendship and wisdom.

Everything is connected

The week with the IWG always consists of 11 sessions in the subgroups and plenary sessions where inspiring speakers share their knowledge. Yesterday, you read about the lecture by Aboriginal women.

In addition to the three sessions in the subgroups, today we heard the very impressive story of Dr. Ann O'Neill AO, Founder of Angelhands inc.

When Ann was 24, her estranged husband broke into her Perth house and shot dead their two small children. He then shot Ann in the right leg — causing a wound that would lead to its amputation then killed himself.

In the 24 years since that unthinkable event in August 1994, Ann has rebuilt her life. She has a joyous home life and has established herself professionally as an expert in the field of working with victims of extreme trauma.

You could read more about Ann O'Neill AO's transformative story at ABC News: https://amp.abc.net.au/article/10464238

Ann confronted us with the facts about trauma-sensitive working and the task we have as professionals to keep hope alive. By doing our own homework and looking at our own wounds, we can support others on their journey with confidence and authenticity.

In the evening, colleagues presented their insights in three impressive workshops that we call ‘Work in Progress’: the latest experiences and insights in various areas of loss and grief are shared. We are highlighting three sessions.

Daisuke Kawashima - School of Psychology, Chukyo University, Japan - talked about Postvention for Su***de Loss Survivors in Japan.

Janet McCord - Edgewood College, United States of America - spoke about Mind Mapping to Teach Su***de Theory/Models.

Donna Schuurman and Monique Mitchell - Dougy Center: The National Grief Center for Children and Families, United States of America - talked about Being Grief-Informed: 10 Core Principles.

A day full of hard work and inspiration!

Coffee and encounters

‘No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.’

- John Donne

Professionalism does not emerge in isolation. It is shaped in the crucible of relationship and community. Through shared reflection, mutual challenge, and collective experience, we grow in competence, courage, and care.

Authentic connections create the safety to be vulnerable and the accountability to rise. In community, we encounter mirrors and mentors.

It is here, between people, that our professional identity is forge by what we know but foremost by how we are with others in moments that matter.

A day to remember

Our member Andy Ho starts every day with a morning meditation to help us clear our minds and open our hearts.

The first three sessions in the subgroups took place, where we exchanged ideas, were moved, and inspired by the topics you could read about here yesterday.

We were touched and inspired by the powerful story and research that was presented in plenary by Karen Ugle and Belle Selkirk. Karen Ugle is a Ballardong Noongar woman from the eastern hills area outside Perth and a Lecturer in the School of Population Health at Curtin University. Belle Selkirk is a Noongar woman from the South-West of Western Australia. She is Research Fellow with the Transforming Indigenous Mental Health and Wellbeing (TIMHWB) project at The University of Western Australia

Karen and Belle spoke poignantly about Aboriginal-led Approaches to Transforming Indigenous Mental Health and Wellbeing

It is a tradition to remember the members who have passed away since the previous meeting. There were testimonials about Joachim Wittkowski, Colin Murray Parkes and Margaret Noone.

The service was accompanied by music from Ben Cromie, a student at the Perth Art and Music Conservatory who played the marimba.

In the evening, we saw the very moving film 'The Last Daughter', a documentary about Brenda’s journey to unearth the truth about her past, and to reconcile the two sides of her family. Brenda’s first memories are of growing up in a loving white foster family, before she was suddenly taken away and returned to her Aboriginal family. The powerful film can be seen on Netflix.

And in between, we chat animatedly during meals and coffee breaks, just like old and new friends do.

We have started

Once every 1.5 years, the International Work Group holds a session. Each time, it takes place on a different continent. This week, we are meeting in Perth, Western Australia.

The organizing committee has put together a wonderful and inspiring program.

The core of the week consists of 10 sessions of 1.5 hours each, during which members gather in small groups to explore a specific theme in depth.

After the opening of the week by our chair Philip Larkin and a moving welcome by a representative of the Whadjuk Nyoonga people, we listened to a traditional musical opening.

And then it was time to choose the topics for the week. It will be a rich week, in which we will explore the following topics:

1.⁠ ⁠Ritual, grief literacy including funerals
2.⁠ ⁠Grief counselling and therapy
3.⁠ ⁠Challenging the medicalising and pathologizing of grief
4.⁠ ⁠Non-death loss and grief
5.⁠ ⁠Roots of leadership
6.⁠ ⁠Technology, AI and grief
7.⁠ ⁠Suicidology
8.⁠ ⁠Death literacy, end of life doulas and assisted dying
9.⁠ ⁠Research – ethics and methodology