The Grief We Don’t Teach: Virtual Reality as a Tool for Understanding Child Loss

This talk explores the unique experience of parental bereavement and how immersive storytelling can deepen understanding of this often-misunderstood form of grief. Year of the Cicadas is a virtual reality experience that guides participants through a parent’s seventeen-year journey of loss and remembrance, blending interactive storytelling with spatial audio, personal artifacts, and archival recordings. Through this lens, grief is presented as an evolving process of meaning-making and connection. The session invites reflection on how virtual reality can open new pathways for empathy, education, and support.

About the Speaker:

Dr. Kimberly Hieftje is Director and co-founder of XRPediatrics and the Yale Center for Immersive Technologies in Pediatrics. With over 16 years of experience in health behavior change and immersive technologies, she has led numerous federally and foundation-funded projects, authored over 60 publications, and serves as Editor-in-Chief of Games for Health Journal.

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Co-hosted with: Yale Latino Networking Group

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