From Grief & Loss to Prison Reentry: A Diverse Discussion with Susan Casey and Sean Dustin

Nowhere To Go But Up

Susan Casey is a licensed clinical social worker who specializes in grief and loss. She trains therapists around the country on measurement-based care and focuses on grief and loss in her private practice. Susan is also launching a course on the therapeutic benefits of writing through grief and loss. Her interest in this field was sparked after the death of her younger brother in 2014, which was the most catastrophic event in her life. She had written her dissertation on the therapeutic benefits of writing through grief, loss, and trauma long before her brother's death. When her brother passed away, she tested her theory by blogging her way through her grief, which eventually led to her writing a book on sibling loss. Susan interviewed people from around the world who had lost a sibling, and it took her three and a half years to write the book. Additionally, Susan got certified as a bereavement group facilitator and ran bereavement groups at the Center for Grieving Children. Susan believes that grief is not just about the death of a person, but it can also be about the ending of something. For instance, a person can grieve over the end of high school and the start of college. Susan's passion is to work with people who undergo major life transitions, and she feels that people don't talk about grief often because of societal messages that make people feel like they're complaining or whining if they talk about their grief. In response to Sean Dustin's question about how therapists avoid taking their client's traumas or situations home with them, Susan explains that it is a challenge for most therapists because they are empaths and can feel the emotions in the room. It is essential to carry people's stories without feeling weighed down and sad and without taking on the emotions behind their stories. To avoid this, therapists need to intentionally work on setting down their emotions at the end of the day. Susan personally does healthy things like eating well, exercising, and moving the energy through her body to avoid feeling bogged down by the things that happen in the lives of the people who come to her for help. You can watch the YouTube video here: https://youtu.be/mVoUxkG69wo Joe Rogan and Dr. Phil episode: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6bAfaDJakoQ3bIxLjASyxH?si=812467e495c440ab You Can find Susan here: https://susanecasey.com/ You Can find Sean Dustin here: www.seandustin.com #griefandloss #reentry #recidivism #trauma