In a way, Abigail Gellene-Beaudoin’s Mary Washington path began to take shape back in middle school. That’s when her friend was diagnosed with an incurable cancer.
“Walking through her journey with her … led me to decide I wanted to pursue a career in a helping profession,” said Gellene-Beaudoin, a licensed clinical social worker and practicing psychotherapist. A 2013 UMW alumna, she’s also this year’s Department of Psychological Science Graduate-in-Residence.
In that role, she’ll give a free public lecture titled “Talking about the Tough Stuff: Helping caregivers find the words to explain a loved one’s terminal illness or end-stage disease to children.” The talk will take place on Thursday, Sept. 12, at 4 p.m., in the Hurley Convergence Center Digital Auditorium. While she’s on campus, Gellene-Beaudoin will also discuss her experience in the field of clinical social work in classes including developmental psychology, psychopathology and clinical psychology. And she’ll have lunch with students interested in pursuing careers in related fields.
Hailing from Yorktown, Virginia, Gellene-Beaudoin was a high-schooler set on studying psychology and pursuing a career in mental health when she discovered Mary Washington in a book about colleges. “I read about the psychology program and could tell it was robust and I would have the small class sizes and personal relationships with professors, which I felt would give me the educational experience where I could be most successful,” she said.
She went on to earn a master’s degree in social work from the University of Southern California and work in a pediatric home health and hospice organization for nearly a decade, serving children with life-threatening illnesses in Virginia’s Hampton Roads area. There, she provided counseling and play therapy to patients and families navigating anticipatory grief following terminal diagnoses.
“I learned quickly how vital it was for these families to have compassionate and nonjudgmental support with them as they walk such a difficult path,” said Gellene-Beaudoin, who won a local “everyday hero” award last year for her work. She has written two children’s books – Our Baby is Loved and When Hope Changes, which also delve into dealing with life-threatening illness.
Last month, she transitioned to a new job as a psychotherapist at Peninsula Child and Family Services, where she plans to continue her focus on chronic and terminal illness, grief and loss, and perinatal mental health.
“I hear about so many professionals who are afraid of the natural process of grief, and who do their work based on a formulaic or arbitrary agenda of healing,” she said. “My hope is that the students or community members who attend this lecture will leave feeling like they can help families support their kids through this immense hardship, or maybe even feel like their own personal grief experiences are validated.”
The Department of Psychological Science Graduate-in-Residence program began in 1995 as a part of career advising. Each year, the faculty invites an alum who is engaged in interesting work within the field of psychology and brings them to campus to introduce psychology majors to UMW graduates working in the field. For more information about the program, contact the Department of Psychological Science at (540) 654-1054.
