The first European Grief Conference in Denmark

The European Grief Conference (EGC),  which was held in September in Copenhagen, was a good mix of practitioners, teachers and researchers who talked a lot about caring for the bereaved on a much larger scale than previously seen. The purpose of the conference was to share knowledge and inspiration for cooperation and to develop new ways of dealing with bereavement in Europe, and it succeeded as the participants got a broader view of how to help families in grief after a death.

Often these grieving people and families are left with many questions about an unsettled economy and a jungle of rules and laws regarding inheritance and housing etc. If they are not offered the right help from the start, there is a great risk that the natural grief that occurs after a death develops into prolonged grief disorder that can cause great inconvenience and sick leave for the individual and expensive treatments for society. Lots of exciting information was shared at the conference, including the importance of how to convey the need for help in grief. 

Charlotte Linnebjerg, Stress and Crise Coach, associate partner at Begravelses Service (National Member of FIAT-IFTA) was the only representative from the funeral industry participating in the EGC conference. “When I explained the service concept we follow in Begravelses Services, I was listened to. At Begravelses Service, we continuously work to be more than just a traditional funeral home. We have succeeded by gathering a team of employees with different educations, skills and experience from different industries. We can therefore offer a comprehensive package of service offers that the bereaved can choose from according to their needs. Jesper Bloch Christiansen, co-owner and CTO of Begravelses service is lead developer of “Charon”. Charon is an end-to-end software platform, supporting the entire process of directing the funeral, to handling of the administration period of the estate. This includes digital information exchange with customers, authorities and suppliers, resulting in a faster, smoother and documented case management. Charon is GDPR compliant and allows employees from different departments at Begravelses service to collaborate on cases, giving the customer a safe and personal service experience. This means that the Begravelses Service, from the first meeting with the bereaved, until the inheritance is paid out, can offer help with all the tasks the next of kin encounter along the way. We made many new international friends who wanted to hear more about our concept, which was generally praised for being at the forefront of the new ways that the conference announced to ensure the health of the bereaved.” -  says Charlotte Linnebjerg.