Technically, there are two types of grief groups. The informative/supportive grief groups’ purpose is to promote grief education and awareness. It covers grief and bereavement in a more didactic fashion.The second type of grief group is therapeutic in nature. It is personal growth oriented groups focusing on facilitating the individual participant’s own personal loss process. Though many commonalities exist between these two types of groups each has its own unique dynamics and concerns. This book focuses on the second type of group, sometimes referred to as Grief Recovery Groups. I prefer the term “Grief Management.†I learned a long time ago that there is no recovery from grief precipitated by the loss of a beloved, but we can overcome.Settling the Storm is particularly designed for all who are currently leading a group, who are thinking about facilitating a grief group in the future or would like to learn some additional skills or ideas in creating a grief group within a small gathering of people. It was created and organized to help Facilitators plan and facilitate grief groups. It takes off by inviting you to self assess readiness to lead grievers on the journey through grief, reviews the typical characteristics of effective Facilitators, and accentuates the vital skills necessary for ensuring positive outcomes.The next chapter moves you on to a refresher glance at the anatomy of grief and bereavement by considering elements that influence grief; explores the categories of grief and discusses issues relative to grief of the elderly.The third section focuses on the essentials for group preparation and helps you organize your thoughts and ideas about groups. The practical aspects of goals and objectives, and other information are included to provide you with an adequate blueprint for the implementation of your first group session.The “Content of the Session†provides you with some thoughts and suggestions on what to do in your grief groups. In addition, setting up group guidelines, structuring cathartic activities and evaluating the group process are also covered.You will be given tried and proven methodologies used to promote the emotional and spiritual well-being of grieving group members and fundamental tools needed for ensuring the best possible results. A grief group curriculum that can be used as a model is integrated into the overall presentation. Optional resources are appended.

A practical introduction to setting up and facilitating bereavement support groups, guiding the reader through all stages. It examines the different skills needed, and uses case studies and research to suggest models of best practice across a range of group settings. The guidance will help make groups successful for participants and facilitators.

This guide to facilitating support groups offers bereavement caregivers practical strategies for creating and maintaining a productive environment for mourners. Logistical considerations such as setting up and publicizing a new group are discussed, as is the importance of prescreening new members. Tips for creating a set of ground rules are provided, and the pros and cons of creating structured and unstructured meetings are considered. Responding constructively to problems in the group is also discussed, with helpful, time-proven models provided for evaluating group and individual progress.

We are a death phobic society. Consequently, we provide very little help to our citizens in dealing with the one common denominator that we all face, the death of those we love. The paucity of death education programs in our elementary and secondary schools is evident of our death avoidance culture. Although many of our schools do attempt to assist the thousands of children and adolescents yearly who lose parents, siblings, and other loved ones, their efforts tend to focus on how to assist the newly bereaved student in the days immediately following the loss. Very few schools have a long term approach that extends far beyond the immediate crisis, seeking to assist students with the life altering changes that follow the death of a family member. Dr. Luciano Sabatini, a former school counselor and director of guidance, offers a guide to school based professionals, especially those involved in crisis counseling, on how to assist students through crisis intervention teams, educational awareness and support groups. He shares his experiences in working with bereaved students and what he has learned from them in coming to terms with a devastating loss. He also offers school leaders best practices in supporting grieving students and in managing a school grieving the death of a student.

First published in 1996. This book was produced as a companion to the Hospice Foundation of America's third annual teleconference. The Foundation, begun in 1982, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing leadership in the development of hospice and its philosophy of care for terminally ill people. The Foundation conducts educational programs related to hospice, sponsors research on ethical questions as well as the economics of health care at the end-of-life, and serves as a philanthropic presence within the national hospice community. Close to 90 percent of hospices in the United States reach beyond their own patients and families to become, in a variety of ways, a community resource on grief and bereavement That is part of the hospice mission and an important service which the Hospice Foundation of America encourages and tries to support Our annual teleconference is a major part of our effort and it, like all of our projects, is largely underwritten by contributions from individuals. The Hospice Foundation of America is a member of the Combined Federal Campaign through Health Charities of Americas. The Hospice Foundation of America is a member of the Combined Federal Campaign through Health Charities of America.

Grief overload is what you feel when you experience too many significant losses all at once, in a relatively short period of time, or cumulatively. In addition to the deaths of loved ones, such losses can also include divorce, estrangement, illness, relocation, job changes, and more. Our minds and hearts have enough trouble coping with a single loss, so when the losses pile up, the grief often seems especially chaotic and defeating. The good news is that through intentional, active mourning, you can and will find your way back to hope and healing. This compassionate guide will show you how.

When a loved one dies we mourn our loss. We take comfort in the rituals that mark the passing, and we turn to those around us for support. But what happens when there is no closure, when a family member or a friend who may be still alive is lost to us nonetheless? How, for example, does the mother whose soldier son is missing in action, or the family of an Alzheimer's patient who is suffering from severe dementia, deal with the uncertainty surrounding this kind of loss? In this sensitive and lucid account, Pauline Boss explains that, all too often, those confronted with such ambiguous loss fluctuate between hope and hopelessness. Suffered too long, these emotions can deaden feeling and make it impossible for people to move on with their lives. Yet the central message of this book is that they can move on. Drawing on her research and clinical experience, Boss suggests strategies that can cushion the pain and help families come to terms with their grief. Her work features the heartening narratives of those who cope with ambiguous loss and manage to leave their sadness behind, including those who have lost family members to divorce, immigration, adoption, chronic mental illness, and brain injury. With its message of hope, this eloquent book offers guidance and understanding to those struggling to regain their lives. Table of Contents: 1. Frozen Grief 2. Leaving without Goodbye 3. Goodbye without Leaving 4. Mixed Emotions 5. Ups and Downs 6. The Family Gamble 7. The Turning Point 8. Making Sense out of Ambiguity 9. The Benefit of a Doubt Notes Acknowledgments Reviews of this book: You will find yourself thinking about the issues discussed in this book long after you put it down and perhaps wishing you had extra copies for friends and family members who might benefit from knowing that their sorrows are not unique...This book's value lies in its giving a name to a force many of us will confront--sadly, more than once--and providing personal stories based on 20 years of interviews and research. --Pamela Gerhardt, Washington Post Reviews of this book: A compassionate exploration of the effects of ambiguous loss and how those experiencing it handle this most devastating of losses ... Boss's approach is to encourage families to talk together, to reach a consensus about how to mourn that which has been lost and how to celebrate that which remains. Her simple stories of families doing just that contain lessons for all. Insightful, practical, and refreshingly free of psychobabble. --Kirkus Review Reviews of this book: Engagingly written and richly rewarding, this title presents what Boss has learned from many years of treating individuals and families suffering from uncertain or incomplete loss...The obvious depth of the author's understanding of sufferers of ambiguous loss and the facility with which she communicates that understanding make this a book to be recommended. --R. R. Cornellius, Choice Reviews of this book: Written for a wide readership, the concepts of ambiguous loss take immediate form through the many provocative examples and stories Boss includes, All readers will find stories with which they will relate...Sensitive, grounded and practical, this book should, in my estimation, be required reading for family practitioners. --Ted Bowman, Family Forum Reviews of this book: Dr. Boss describes [the] all-too-common phenomenon [of unresolved grief] as resulting from either of two circumstances: when the lost person is still physically present but emotionally absent or when the lost person is physically absent but still emotionally present. In addition to senility, physical presence but psychological absence may result, for example, when a person is suffering from a serious mental disorder like schizophrenia or depression or debilitating neurological damage from an accident or severe stroke, when a person abuses drugs or alcohol, when a child is autistic or when a spouse is a workaholic who is not really 'there' even when he or she is at home...Cases of physical absence with continuing psychological presence typically occur when a soldier is missing in action, when a child disappears and is not found, when a former lover or spouse is still very much missed, when a child 'loses' a parent to divorce or when people are separated from their loved ones by immigration...Professionals familiar with Dr. Boss's work emphasised that people suffering from ambiguous loss were not mentally ill, but were just stuck and needed help getting past the barrier or unresolved grief so that they could get on with their lives. --Asian Age Combining her talents as a compassionate family therapist and a creative researcher, Pauline Boss eloquently shows the many and complex ways that people can cope with the inevitable losses in contemporary family life. A wise book, and certain to become a classic. --Constance R. Ahrons, author of The Good Divorce A powerful and healing book. Families experiencing ambiguous loss will find strategies for seeing what aspects of their loved ones remain, and for understanding and grieving what they have lost. Pauline Boss offers us both insight and clarity. --Kathy Weingarten, Ph.D, The Family Institute of Cambridge, Harvard Medical School

"It is so important to advocate for things that may not always seem possible. Getting to work with patients/families at the end of their life is the ultimate honor." - Lauren G Markham, MSW, LCSW, APHSW-C "In this work, one witnesses both depths of human suffering and heights of human transcendence that can inspire both awe and fear. At those times, I have found that surrendering my need to be "an expert" and instead, allow myself to simply be a "human" is the wisest action." - Kerry Irish, LCSW, OSW-C, FAOSW"--

When you have difficulties managing your emotions, it can feel like you’re losing control of your whole life. Anger, hurt, grief, worry, and other intense feelings can be overwhelming, and how you react to these emotions can impact your ability to maintain relationships, succeed at work, or even think straight! If you find it difficult to understand, express, and process intense emotions—and most of us do—this book is for you. Calming the Emotional Storm is your guide to coping with difficult emotions calmly and responsibly by using powerful skills from dialectical behavior therapy. This method combines cognitive behavioral techniques with mindfulness practices to change the way you respond to stressful situations. By practicing these skills, you can stop needless emotional suffering and develop the inner resilience that will help you weather any emotional storm. This book will teach you how to: • Establish a balanced life for an everyday sense of well-being • Let go of unwanted worries and fears • Become better at accepting yourself and others • Work through a crisis without letting emotions take over