Ceilidh Eaton Russell, PhD, CCLS is a certified child life specialist and an assistant professor in Child Life and Pediatric Psychosocial Care at McMaster University, and a Research Fellow with the Association of Child Life Professionals. She practices clinically with AWC Grief Support and is the Child Life Lead for Canadian Virtual Hospice. Since 2001, Ceilidh’s research, clinical work, teaching, and resource development have been focused on supporting children and families living with a child’s or parent’s serious illness, dying, death, and grief, with an emphasis on communication and relationships from the perspectives of young people and their parents.
Longer bio:
Ceilidh is a Certified Child Life Specialist and a Grief Counsellor with a PhD in Family Relations and Human Development from the University of Guelph. She is an Assistant Professor in Child Life and Paediatric Psychosocial Care at McMaster University, a Research Fellow with the Association for Child Life Professionals, and Child Life Lead at Canadian Virtual Hospice.
Since 2001, Ceilidh has worked as a clinician and a researcher in children’s hospital and community-based palliative care and grief settings, supporting children, youth, and families living with serious illness, dying and death. Her clinical practice is with AWC Grief Support in Ontario, Canada.
Ceilidh’s research focuses on children’s, adolescents’ and parents’ grief experiences, relationships, and communication in the context of serious illness, death, and grief. She has written handbooks for families about communication with a dying child, as well as supporting grieving children and young people. In her work with Canadian Virtual Hospice, she led the creation of therapeutic activity books for children living with their own or someone else’s serious illness, dying, and death.
