Dr Sarah Wayland

In 2004, Sarah started working in a small service in Sydney, providing 1-on-1 counselling for families of missing people. She met people living with the unending, unclear loss of their loved ones. The more she met, the more she realised how little resourcing there was for counsellors, volunteers, police, the media and the community to shape how they might understand ambiguous loss. Her own guide was a small book written by Emeritus Professor Pauline Boss simply titled Ambiguous Loss.

A few years later, she furthered her knowledge through a Churchill Fellowship, working directly with ambiguous loss principle theorist Dr Pauline Boss, leading to a chance to work for the Australian Federal Police and then in a leadership position within the Department of Communities and Justice. As one person, working in one service, her capacity to reach families and train services was limited.

In 2013, she took a chance, quit her job, and started a PhD exploring the role of hope for families of missing people. Ten years on, Sarah’s now an Associate Professor leading research projects that seek to promote new ways of working in the trauma field.

Her hope is that this masterclass reaches those who need to better understand what happens when stories are shared with people who want to listen, all with the goal of better supporting families of missing people all around the world.

Our sincere thanks go to Dr Sarah Wayland for so generously sharing her expertise. She is an invaluable collaborator for our charity and a champion for this cause.