Talking To Kids About Death, Loss, & Grief

Liminal Showers is dedicated to paying our partners for their expertise, as are we dedicated to equity and accessibility. Please note, a limited number of complementary tickets are available. We are grateful for your support.

Loss is unavoidable - be it from the death of a loved one, a pet, a tradition, a life we once knew, or otherwise; loss is part of the human experience and we usually have little to no control over how and when it happens. As a death midwife, I have come to learn about loss intimately. One thing that often seems to baffle most is how best to engage, prepare, and support kids. Let’s be real, we don’t want to shatter the innocence of a kiddo with frank facts about death, loss, and grief. We also don’t want to risk compounding trauma by shielding children from reality. 

In this interactive workshop, your hosts Danniele (Dani) Warmuth, MSW, LICSW (she, her, hers); and Danielle Sather, Certified Death Midwife (she, her, hers), will provide a broad range of content to help you cultivate tools, language, and a working knowledge of helping children process loss and grief. In addition, participants will receive access to a shared google drive with access to workshop slides and essential resources. Participants will also have the opportunity to offer their own experiences or challenges as “case studies” to help us explore real life, potential solutions within the scope of our content. Please note, this virtual event will be recorded and will be made available to all registered participants. 

We are excited to provide you with a broad range of information and guidance; we are also eager to receive feedback and guidance from you as well, in hopes of continuing this workshop as part of a larger series. With this, you can expect content to focus on a child’s first loss, anticipatory grief, and ambiguous grief - such as children might experience in the foster care system or with their first encounters with death. This workshop is great for those seeking tools as caretakers or foster parents; guardians seeking guidance for helping a child through various forms of loss; or anyone who wishes to build a deeper understanding of a child’s foundational developmental abilities to grapple with death, loss, and grief. 

Your Hosts: 

Danniele (Dani) Warmuth, MSW, LICSW (she, her, hers) is an Early Childhood Therapist who works at Washburn Center for Children in MN. She is a graduate of the BSW and Theater program at the University of Montana and has a Master of Social Work in Children and Families from the University of Minnesota. Currently, Dani works with children ages 0 to 5 as a clinical social worker, aka a children’s therapist, and their parents, and oftentimes supporting caregivers in supporting young children processing their experiences. She is rostered for child parent psychotherapy - evidence based trauma therapy model for kids ages 0 - 5, crisis work and suicide prevention, individual therapy, and domestic violence work. In her free time she loves to read fantasy books and hang out with her dog Paul, her husband, and baby. 

Danielle (Dani) Sather, MA, MFA, Certified Death Midwife (she, her, hers) is a Certified Death Midwife, educator, artist, and owner of Liminal Showers, LLC. She has an MA in Performance Studies from Texas A&M with a focus on prison theatre, and an MFA in theatre from University of Montana with an emphasis on acting and developing methods for safely and ethically stepping into trauma encompassing roles. She completed both master’s programs anchored in critical race studies and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Following academia, Dani received certification in trauma informed care and communication, death midwifery, and grief coaching as a nonprofit professional in varying fields such as sexual assault advocacy, racial equity, theatre education, and suicide prevention. In her free time, she enjoys romantic fantasy novels, teaching her dog new tricks, and writing spoken word poetry when the mood strikes just right.