Bereavement Professional

Hi,

We are considering starting a new support group specifically geared for grieving parents, for our community.  I am wondering if any of you offer some type of similar group?  If so we are wondering the following?

1. What printed resources do you use (book, articles etc)

2. How is the group set up (open/close ended, how often meets etc)

3. What rituals or activities do you include?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

------------------------------
LeAnne Jackson, BSW
Chaplaincy Hospice Care
Richland, WA
------------------------------

You might consider the Compassionate Friends organization as a starting point for materials.   They have been around for about 35 years, originating out of the need for bereavement support for grieving parents.

As in the case of any support group, I always clarify with my potential clients that there are two types of groups:

1)  A support group which simply gathers to share common experiences and issues.

2)  A support group which gathers to identify specific issues with their grief and how they are going to work on the issues to begin to move forward with the rest of their life.

I co-facilitate a Compassionate Friends group which is defined by the first type.   Parents simply gathering because they want to know that others have similar emotions and feelings and that they themselves are not alone in their experience.

I also lead groups using the Grief Recovery Support materials (out of California).   These groups are structured, eight week classes that help clients address a loss or grief that needs emotional completion.   This requires reading, self-reflection and sharing to begin to identify and verbalize the things one did not say or do with the individual they have lost.

If you define your parameters up front, everyone will have a clear understanding of what the group's purpose is and know which group is for them.

Rev. Kerry L. Lambert, M.Div, BCC

Murray-Calloway County Hospital

Murray, KY

Original Message:
Sent: 08-05-2016 13:09
From: LeAnne Jackson
Subject: Support group for grieving parents

Hi,

We are considering starting a new support group specifically geared for grieving parents, for our community.  I am wondering if any of you offer some type of similar group?  If so we are wondering the following?

1. What printed resources do you use (book, articles etc)

2. How is the group set up (open/close ended, how often meets etc)

3. What rituals or activities do you include?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

------------------------------
LeAnne Jackson, BSW
Chaplaincy Hospice Care
Richland, WA
------------------------------

Original Message------

Hi,

We are considering starting a new support group specifically geared for grieving parents, for our community.  I am wondering if any of you offer some type of similar group?  If so we are wondering the following?

1. What printed resources do you use (book, articles etc)

2. How is the group set up (open/close ended, how often meets etc)

3. What rituals or activities do you include?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

------------------------------
LeAnne Jackson, BSW
Chaplaincy Hospice Care
Richland, WA
------------------------------

Hi - 

We have  monthly drop-in group for parents that have had an adult child die. It's been meeting for about 3 years. We started it as a 4-week closed series group after several requests for such a group and it is has continued now as a monthly group. Attendance varies, but there still seems to be a need.  The group is led by an master's prepared social worker and the topics come from the attending participants.

Good Luck.  

------------------------------
Diane Snyder Cowan, MA
Director of Bereavement Center
Hospice of the Western Reserve, Inc

Original Message:
Sent: 08-08-2016 09:42
From: Patti Anewalt
Subject: Support group for grieving parents

Because grief is unpredictable, we offer some monthly drop-in support groups that people don't have to preregister for. One of these is our Loss of Child group with is for parents who have lost a child of any age. We don't have a set curriculum and we don't offer any rituals other than we always close with a rather uplifting reading. What is discussed is completely based on what the participants want and need to talk about that evening. And all our groups are led by a master's level counselor and are co-facilitated by one or two trained volunteers who have experienced the same type of loss.

          Our Loss of Child group is consistently well attended so it certainly seems to be meeting a need. We find people tend to come to that group longer than some of our other groups.

          Before I started this group I contacted our local Compassionate Friends group and found out when they offered their group so that I could be sure not to offer ours on the same day. That way we can refer people to that group and, in turn, they tell their participants about our group as well. That might be something you'd want to do as well, good luck!!

 

 

Patti

 

Patti Anewalt, PhD, LPC, FT

Director of Pathways Center for Grief & Loss

Hospice & Community Care

Phone (717) 391-2413

Direct (717) 717-391-2412

Fax (717) 735-9667

www.pathwaysthroughgrief.org

 

For Online Grief Education and Support visit:

https://www.research.net/r/Pathways-Center

 

Steering Committee Member,

National Council of Hospice & Palliative Care Professionals

Member of the Board of Directors for the

Association for Death Education and Counseling

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

This message and any attachments are confidential and may be privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify Hospice and Community Care by replying to this message or by sending an e-mail to info@hospicecommunity.org and destroy all copies of this message and any attachments. Thank you.

We are considering starting a new support group specifically geared for grieving parents, for our community.  I am wondering if any of you offer some type of similar group?  If so we are wondering the following?

1. What printed resources do you use (book, articles etc)

2. How is the group set up (open/close ended, how often meets etc)

3. What rituals or activities do you include?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Hello! Our Hospice has a support group that was established for the same identified need. I feel the need to give you the long winded response to, hopefully, better answer the question. Our "Friend to Friend" group began at a community support group in a rural location, and was led by an LMSW who had experienced the death of her own child. The group was successful for several years, averaging about 8 people regularly attending each meeting. As time went on the group experienced a drop in attendance, largely because new attendees were not being brought in...and the more "experienced" grievers had gotten what they needed from the group. The group leader and I talked, and we decided to bring the group under our Hospice's roof. I began doing marketing for the group, and have acted as a co-facilitator. We actively look through the obituaries to find children who have died (ages 0-60ish) and who's parents are still living, then use the white pages to try and find them. We then send them bereavement materials, including an invitation to the group. We meet 2x/month, and we send people a schedule of group meetings/ topics 2x/ year. If people aren't interested when they receive the mailing, they may change their mind in a few months and decide to come. Some of these people will never show up to a group, but they do come to our memorial events...and even meet with staff for 1 on 1 grief support. 6 months of the year we have different topics pertaining to grief and loss, which are developed with input from the group, and these are open to anyone and everyone. The other 6 months of the year we largely follow the coursework that can be found in "Beginning Again", by Sherry Hendricks Martin. The "Beginning Again" portion of the group is closed, and must be registered for. Our group meets 2x/month from 7-9pm. We set it this late in the day to allow working professionals the chance to come after work. While this works great for some, it's also a major obstacle for those who do not wish to drive after dark.

------------------------------
Jamie Probst

Original Message:
Sent: 08-05-2016 13:09
From: LeAnne Jackson
Subject: Support group for grieving parents

Hi,

We are considering starting a new support group specifically geared for grieving parents, for our community.  I am wondering if any of you offer some type of similar group?  If so we are wondering the following?

1. What printed resources do you use (book, articles etc)

2. How is the group set up (open/close ended, how often meets etc)

3. What rituals or activities do you include?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

------------------------------
LeAnne Jackson, BSW
Chaplaincy Hospice Care
Richland, WA
------------------------------

We have two groups for parents who have experienced the death of a child.They are our hospice families and community members so the causes of death vary. One group is for loss in pregnancy or early infancy, and the other is loss of child, any age. They are 12 week closed sessions, and we limited them to 12 participants. The group runs for 1 hour and meets weekly.

We do not have a curriculum that we follow specifically, but we do have different themes that we discuss. We have found from feedback that participants often do not want to share details of their story the first night, so we just do brief introductions as they share their name, child's name and when they died. When they arrive and are completing paperwork I also give them some written questions- " What is your biggest challenge on your grief journey?" and "What are you hoping to get from support group?" These are anonymous and I read them out loud during the group. This helps to join and validate them and also helps me to structure some things that I will want to cover in the 12 weeks.

Starting at week 3-4 we introduce the option of personal sharing of momentous. We leave this as an option because we have found some do not feel ready. We ask at the end of group who might like to share the following week and we limit it to two per week so that no one feels rushed. We also remind them that even if they commit to share one night and for whatever reason it does not feel right, to honor what they need to do to take care of themselves. We also use ceramic feeling hearts towards the end of group. Several are laid out and they chose one that reminds them of, or connects them to their child. Their reflections and sharing in this is often very powerful. These can be ordered at griefwatch.com. We also include a brief education on an anxiety/relaxation technique at the close of each group and also begin and end with a short reading or quote. On the last night of group in the loss of child group they are invited to bring their child's favorite dessert or snack and share about it. 

Participants are invited to attend a subsequent session is space is available, but priority does go to those who have not attended. 

Original Message:
Sent: 08-08-2016 13:35
From: Jaime Probst
Subject: Support group for grieving parents

We are considering starting a new support group specifically geared for grieving parents, for our community.  I am wondering if any of you offer some type of similar group?  If so we are wondering the following?

1. What printed resources do you use (book, articles etc)

2. How is the group set up (open/close ended, how often meets etc)

3. What rituals or activities do you include?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Hello! Our Hospice has a support group that was established for the same identified need. I feel the need to give you the long winded response to, hopefully, better answer the question. Our "Friend to Friend" group began at a community support group in a rural location, and was led by an LMSW who had experienced the death of her own child. The group was successful for several years, averaging about 8 people regularly attending each meeting. As time went on the group experienced a drop in attendance, largely because new attendees were not being brought in...and the more "experienced" grievers had gotten what they needed from the group. The group leader and I talked, and we decided to bring the group under our Hospice's roof. I began doing marketing for the group, and have acted as a co-facilitator. We actively look through the obituaries to find children who have died (ages 0-60ish) and who's parents are still living, then use the white pages to try and find them. We then send them bereavement materials, including an invitation to the group. We meet 2x/month, and we send people a schedule of group meetings/ topics 2x/ year. If people aren't interested when they receive the mailing, they may change their mind in a few months and decide to come. Some of these people will never show up to a group, but they do come to our memorial events...and even meet with staff for 1 on 1 grief support. 6 months of the year we have different topics pertaining to grief and loss, which are developed with input from the group, and these are open to anyone and everyone. The other 6 months of the year we largely follow the coursework that can be found in "Beginning Again", by Sherry Hendricks Martin. The "Beginning Again" portion of the group is closed, and must be registered for. Our group meets 2x/month from 7-9pm. We set it this late in the day to allow working professionals the chance to come after work. While this works great for some, it's also a major obstacle for those who do not wish to drive after dark.

------------------------------
Jamie Probst

Original Message:
Sent: 08-05-2016 13:09
From: LeAnne Jackson
Subject: Support group for grieving parents

Hi,

We are considering starting a new support group specifically geared for grieving parents, for our community.  I am wondering if any of you offer some type of similar group?  If so we are wondering the following?

1. What printed resources do you use (book, articles etc)

2. How is the group set up (open/close ended, how often meets etc)

3. What rituals or activities do you include?

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

------------------------------
LeAnne Jackson, BSW
Chaplaincy Hospice Care
Richland, WA
------------------------------