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.

Filling the gap between the challenges to conventional grief psychology and the practice of bereavement counseling, this structured guide will also inspire readers with a new way of thinkingNincluding the stories and love that remain after death. Here is a model for folding the deceased person's values, legacies, meanings, and connections into the lives of the living.

When we're grieving the death of someone loved, we need the support and compassion of our fellow human beings. Grief support groups provide a wonderful opportunity for this very healing kind of support. This book is for professional or lay caregivers who want to start and lead an effective grief support group for adults. It explains how to get a group started and how to keep it running smoothly once it's underway. The group leader's roles and responsibilities are explored in detail, including communication skills, trust building, handling problems, and more.This Guide also includes twelve meeting plans that interface with the second editions of Understanding Your Grief and The Understanding Your Grief Journal. Each week group members read a chapter in the main text, complete a chapter in the journal, and come to group ready for you to guide them through an exploration of the content. Meeting plans include suggestions for how to open each session as well as engaging exercises and activities. A Certificate of Completion you can photocopy and give to group members in the final meeting is provided.

The Grief Support Group Curriculum provides a basis for assisting children and teenagers as they learn about mourning through facing death of a close or special friend. The aim of this curriculum is to facilitate healthy variations of mourning and positive adaptations following the death of a friend or family member. The work illustrates mourning in four stages of development and is accordingly divided into four separate texts. The texts focus on preschool-aged children, children in kindergarten through grade two, children in grades three through six, and teenagers.

Susan Hansen's Grief and Loss Support Group Facilitator's Manual contains everything a group leader needs to facilitate a 10-week grief and loss support group for students or clients ages 12 to adult. The manual includes step-by-step activities, detailed lesson plans, handouts, support group guidelines, tips for effective group facilitation, a sample group flyer and parent permission slip, and ASCA standards for those who are facilitating a school-based support group.The group sessions include a discussion of different types of losses, a loss checklist, the five stages of grief, five steps to take in addressing a loss, unsent letter templates, grab bag questions, and suggestions for creating a collage or other artwork to facilitate the healing process. For those who already own Susan's earlier resource book, Tools For Your Emotional Health Toolbox, this manual includes updated lesson plans, objectives, standards, handouts, and an easier-to-read font for all materials.

This book shows how you can embark on a process of sensitive conversation that helps the bereaved person to come to terms with their grief. Dodie Graves outlines a practical framework of six elements for conversing with bereaved people in a structured but flexible way that avoids prescriptive instructions.

Those who have been bereaved are in need of support, and groupwork is an effective way in which people can come together and support each other in a trusted environment. This book provides a practical introduction to setting up and facilitating bereavement support groups, giving facilitators the confidence to run a group. It guides the reader through all the stages of setting up a group, and examines different types of facilitation and the skills needed. Case studies illustrate different types of group, such as closed, time-limited groups and open groups, with a discussion about the potential of online groups. Chapters also cover group dynamics, handling challenging situations, and overcoming problems that may arise. This accessible book helps to make groups successful for both participants and facilitators, and is a valued source of information and guidance for those working with bereaved people, including hospice and hospital staff, counsellors, trainers, managers and social workers.