Bereavement director receives certification

Newton - Diana Sebzda, MA, LAC, CT, director of Bereavement for Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice and the Joseph T. Quinlan Bereavement Center recently received her certification in Thanatology, the academic study of death and dying from the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Thanatologists study, teach, and conduct research into cultural patterns, attitudes, anthropology, sociology, and the psychology of death and dying. As director of Bereavement for Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice, Sebzda serves her clients with great understanding and compassion. She offers positive supervision and direction to bereavement staff, and she is crucial to our efforts toward educating board members, full agency staff and volunteers in the healing benefits of grief support. Sebzda has taken the lead in increasing community awareness of our agency’s bereavement services, in expanding the ways in which existing programs can better help our clients, and in creating new programs to address the unmet needs of the community. As an example, she recently offered her newly created program, “Healing in the Classroom,” that has enabled teachers and guidance counselors the tools to develop and maintain onsite grief support systems for bereaved students. As a counselor, as an educator, and as a Director, Sebzda continues to expand her outreach to the community at large; whether she is facilitating Children’s Art Therapy activities for grieving children, counseling bereaved adults through their healing process, or presenting to a group of educators or Board members. For additional information on the services provided by Karen Ann Quinlan Hospice and scheduled bereavement activities, call 973-383-0115 or visit www.KarenAnnQuinlanHospice.org.