MENTAL HEALTH AMERICA OF THE MIDSOUTH


Holding Space with Integrity:
Countertransference in grief work

February 26, 2026
12:00 AM - 1:00 PM CT
1 CE

Grief work can stir powerful emotions for clinicians. Join us for this Lunch and Learn session as we come together to explore this important and often nuanced aspect of counseling. This session examines countertransference in grief work and how clinicians’ emotional responses can influence the therapeutic process. Participants will learn to recognize signs of countertransference, understand ethical implications, and apply practical strategies to manage their reactions while continuing to provide effective, compassionate care.




Intermediate Level Continuing Education Credit Includes:

1 CE approved through the National Association of Social Workers, TN Chapter and approved for counselors through the National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC).

 



For accommodation requests and grievances or other questions about this course, please contact forinfo@MHAMidSouth.org.


COURSE
OBJECTIVES


DEFINE 
countertransference within the context of grief counseling and describe how it differs from other clinician emotional responses such as empathy, burnout, and compassion fatigue.
IDENTIFY
common signs or manifestations of countertransference that may arise when working with grieving clients, including emotional, behavioral, and somatic indicators. 
ANALYZE
the ethical implications of unaddressed countertransference and articulate how it may impact client care, boundaries, and professional standards of practice.
APPLY
practical strategies for managing countertransference in grief work, including self-awareness practices, supervision/consultation, and grounding techniques, to maintain ethical and effective client care.

Christal R. Pennic, LPC-MHSP

    Christal R. Pennic, LPC-MHSP is a native of Nashville and a graduate of both U of Memphis undergrad and Trevecca Nazarene University for grad school. She is a Grief Wellness Educator and Licensed Mental Health Therapist with experience providing grief support services through her church, community mental health programs and in her private practice, Tittle-Pennic Grief Counseling & Consulting, LLC. The name of her practice is a merging of her mother’s last name and her family name as both parents were pivotal in the work that she provides now.
      Christal is able to provide individual and group mental health therapy, but her passion is providing grief therapy and education. She enjoys guiding her clients beyond “the stages of grief” and into grief wellness. She speaks grief in a grief avoidant or death phobic society. Christal understands the phobia that navigating grief can cause at work, in organizations, schools, and churches. Christal believes by providing grief education in these spaces, that parishioners, employees and their supporters can survive and even thrive as they heal through grief. In her free time enjoys podcasting and is the creator of the Podcast, “Surviving Sibling Loss-The Forgotten Mourner’s Podcast” that can be found on YouTube and audio only podcast platforms. 
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