Ash scattering scene from “The Big Lebowski”
Gail Rubin, CT, presents “Laughing in the Face of Death” at the California Hospice and Palliative Care Association (CHAPCA) conference on Wednesday, November 19, 2014 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Laughter breaks tension over serious topics such as death and funerals. Funny films can open the door to discussing advance care and pre-need funeral planning, helping families reduce stress, minimize conflict, save money and have a “good goodbye.” Movie clips will be shown and discussed.
The learning objectives are to:
- Discuss the Terror Management Theory, death anxiety, and how humor helps start conversations.
- Identify specific comedy films that help start conversations about death and funerals.
Ms. Rubin has presented continuing education sessions at national conferences for the American Psychosocial Oncology Society, Association for Death Education and Counseling, International Cemetery Cremation and Funeral Association, National Funeral Directors and Morticians Association, and state associations.
Gail Rubin, CT, “The Doyenne of Death,” is the host and author of A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don’t Plan to Die, an award-winning book and television series. Ms. Rubin is a Certified Thanatologist – that’s a death educator – and Certified Funeral Celebrant who creates memorial services that are all about the person who died. She is also a pioneering Death Café hostess, one of the first people to hold these events in the United States.