Grief and Loss Workshops and Retreats
IN THE PRESENCE OF GRIEF
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I have found in my many years of being with those in grief is that the impact of grief on important relationships is often overlooked. Everyone grieves differently and this can sometimes create a disconnect from others grieving the same loss. Additionally, the culture at large lacks an understanding of the grief process and this often results in a pressure to “get over” the grief. Those in grief need permission to allow the grief to unfold in its own way and time. We never “get over” grief, rather we find a way to weave it into the tapestry of our lives.
I worked with Hospice Caring Project for 13 years providing Grief Support for hospice patient family members as well as grief support to people from the larger Santa Cruz community grieving the loss of loved ones due to illness, (not on hospice service), accidents and suicide. I also developed a Clinical Intern Training Program and served as the Clinical Intern Supervisor for 6 years. In addition, I am an Adjunct Faculty member at John F. Kennedy University and have taught Death, Dying and Bereavement since 2001.
There is nothing so whole as a broken heart.
RESOURCES:
Books:
Landscape without Gravity: A Memoir of Grief, Barbara Lazear Ascher,
Men and Grief, Carol Staubacher
The Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion
Refuge: An Unnatural History of Time and Place, Terry Tempest Williams
When A Life Mate Dies: Stories of Love, Loss and Healing, Susan Heinlein
Articles:
In The Presence of Grief, Andrea Wells, Mft