Widow’s Fire: Embodied Grief & Longing after Sexual Loss

Young widows, who are typically defined as being 50 years old or younger, confront many unique complexities that warrant attention.  Much of the clinical literature about widowhood is derived from older widows; it does not fully capture the experiences of young widows, who usually face an untimely and traumatic loss.  In this module, we will […]

Working Together: Grief Therapy for Suicide Loss

The loss of a loved one to suicide can be devastating, and healing sometimes requires the support of a skilled mental health clinician.  In this two-module series, a grief therapist who specializes in working with suicide loss survivors and a mother who lost her young adult son to suicide will together describe their journey through […]

Therapeutic Presence in Grief & Loss Counseling

Therapeutic presence is foundational to supporting a strong therapeutic relationship and allowing clients to process major losses at each stage of life.  Therapeutic presence is a mindful relational stance that encompasses the qualities of being engaged and receptively attuned in the moment, compassionately with and for the client, and in direct human to human contact, […]

Soothing the Torn Edges of Grief and Loss with Expressive Arts

‘So you mustn’t be frightened…If a sadness arises in front of you larger than any you have ever seen…You must realise that something is happening to you,that life has not forgotten you,that it holds you in its hand and will not let you fall.”~ Rainer Maria Rilke ~ Embodying the principles and practices of the […]

Sociopolitical Grief: Grieving the Loss of Our World

With the current political climate and the deepening divisions and polarization that accompany it, people often talk about grief that originates in social and political structures but is felt in a profoundly personal way.  Sociopolitical grief includes the direct losses that are experienced by individuals as a result of political policies, ideologies, and oppression enacted […]

Pre-Death Grief & Loss II

Foreseeing an impending loss of a significant person through a terminal illness often triggers emotional turmoil and challenging dynamics in relationships and families.  On top of the caregiving burden for the person with the terminal illness, family members and significant others also have to cope with their own intrapsychic distress in preparation for the eventual […]

Pre-Death Grief & Loss I

In the face of the bad news of being diagnosed with a terminal illness, patients often have to face both their own impending death and separation from their loved ones through different dying trajectories, which can be swift or protracted.  This complex emotional journey can trigger existential crisis, death anxiety and pre-death grief, in a […]

Non-Death Loss II

Grief is a natural and nearly universal response to the death of a loved one.  But what is less recognized is that it is also a response to circumstances that have far less social recognition and support—the loss of health to illness or injury, the demise of relationships through betrayal or separation, the erosion of […]

Non-Death Loss I

Grief certainly occurs after the death of someone we love, but it also manifests in the midst of losses that may not be as obvious or easily described.  These are living losses — the loss experiences and their accompanying ambiguity that we must learn to live with as we continue with our lives.  Some living […]

Materials & Methods

Materials and Methods are foundational elements of the expressive arts and a requirement for the Art-Assisted Grief Therapy Certification (AAGT).  This orientation module is designed to acquaint learners with the language of the arts as it pertains to the properties of art materials and their applied use in a variety of settings with specific clients.  […]