Bereavement Professional

Hello Bereavement Folks,

We are looking at moving from an 8-week bereavement group model to a 6 week group model. As such, we are taking a look at our group outlines, and are curious if anyone might have a 6 week group outline they'd be willing to share? We are getting clearer about which topics we want to hone in on. I have some ideas, curious as well to hear what others find successful/supportive for participants?

Thank you!
Bianca


------------------------------
Bianca Staudt
Bereavement Clinician
Home Health & Hospice Care
Merrimack, NH
------------------------------

I've been using "Understanding Your Grief" by Dr. Alan Wolfelt for our 6 week sessions:

For session #1 the group members openly share, I walk through the Mourners Bill of Rights, and provide and overview of chapter 1 "Embracing Your Loss."

For the subsequent weeks, I assign 2 chapters to read and we walk through them over the next 5 sessions. Not everyone reads the chapters but the topics spur discussion and I try and steer the sharing so it stays somewhat on point and doesn't take too many rabbit trails dominated by just a couple of people in the group. 

At the start of each session, if new attendees are there, I give the first few minutes for introductions and to share about the loved one they are grieving.

We provide copies of the book for each attendee but we do not purchase the journals.

We've received positive feedback on the content and structure.

​​​

------------------------------
Joel Fletcher
Bereavement Coordinator, Commonwealth Hospice
Danville, VA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 08-23-2022 09:50 AM
From: Bianca Staudt
Subject: 6 week group outline

Hello Bereavement Folks,

We are looking at moving from an 8-week bereavement group model to a 6 week group model. As such, we are taking a look at our group outlines, and are curious if anyone might have a 6 week group outline they'd be willing to share? We are getting clearer about which topics we want to hone in on. I have some ideas, curious as well to hear what others find successful/supportive for participants?

Thank you!
Bianca


------------------------------
Bianca Staudt
Bereavement Clinician
Home Health & Hospice Care
Merrimack, NH
------------------------------

We also use "Understanding Your Grief" for our 8 week group.  It is easy to follow and provides good background for discussion on a variety of topics.  We have put together some exercises as well that we sprinkle in. I have used the journal companions in the past but group members indicated it was too much and felt bad for not completing work between groups so we discontinued using them.   If you would like our outline send me a message at nschutt@cvhospice.org.  Best wishes to you on your work.
Original Message:
Sent: 08-24-2022 10:08 AM
From: Joel Fletcher
Subject: 6 week group outline

I've been using "Understanding Your Grief" by Dr. Alan Wolfelt for our 6 week sessions:

For session #1 the group members openly share, I walk through the Mourners Bill of Rights, and provide and overview of chapter 1 "Embracing Your Loss."

For the subsequent weeks, I assign 2 chapters to read and we walk through them over the next 5 sessions. Not everyone reads the chapters but the topics spur discussion and I try and steer the sharing so it stays somewhat on point and doesn't take too many rabbit trails dominated by just a couple of people in the group.

At the start of each session, if new attendees are there, I give the first few minutes for introductions and to share about the loved one they are grieving.

We provide copies of the book for each attendee but we do not purchase the journals.

We've received positive feedback on the content and structure.

​​​

------------------------------
Joel Fletcher
Bereavement Coordinator, Commonwealth Hospice
Danville, VA

Original Message:
Sent: 08-23-2022 09:50 AM
From: Bianca Staudt
Subject: 6 week group outline

Hello Bereavement Folks,

We are looking at moving from an 8-week bereavement group model to a 6 week group model. As such, we are taking a look at our group outlines, and are curious if anyone might have a 6 week group outline they'd be willing to share? We are getting clearer about which topics we want to hone in on. I have some ideas, curious as well to hear what others find successful/supportive for participants?

Thank you!
Bianca


------------------------------
Bianca Staudt
Bereavement Clinician
Home Health & Hospice Care
Merrimack, NH
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 8/25/2022 9:07:00 AM
From: Nathan Schutt
Subject: RE: 6 week group outline

We also use "Understanding Your Grief" for our 8 week group.  It is easy to follow and provides good background for discussion on a variety of topics.  We have put together some exercises as well that we sprinkle in. I have used the journal companions in the past but group members indicated it was too much and felt bad for not completing work between groups so we discontinued using them.   If you would like our outline send me a message at nschutt@cvhospice.org.  Best wishes to you on your work.
Original Message:
Sent: 08-24-2022 10:08 AM
From: Joel Fletcher
Subject: 6 week group outline

I've been using "Understanding Your Grief" by Dr. Alan Wolfelt for our 6 week sessions:

For session #1 the group members openly share, I walk through the Mourners Bill of Rights, and provide and overview of chapter 1 "Embracing Your Loss."

For the subsequent weeks, I assign 2 chapters to read and we walk through them over the next 5 sessions. Not everyone reads the chapters but the topics spur discussion and I try and steer the sharing so it stays somewhat on point and doesn't take too many rabbit trails dominated by just a couple of people in the group.

At the start of each session, if new attendees are there, I give the first few minutes for introductions and to share about the loved one they are grieving.

We provide copies of the book for each attendee but we do not purchase the journals.

We've received positive feedback on the content and structure.

​​​

------------------------------
Joel Fletcher
Bereavement Coordinator, Commonwealth Hospice
Danville, VA

Original Message:
Sent: 08-23-2022 09:50 AM
From: Bianca Staudt
Subject: 6 week group outline

Hello Bereavement Folks,

We are looking at moving from an 8-week bereavement group model to a 6 week group model. As such, we are taking a look at our group outlines, and are curious if anyone might have a 6 week group outline they'd be willing to share? We are getting clearer about which topics we want to hone in on. I have some ideas, curious as well to hear what others find successful/supportive for participants?

Thank you!
Bianca


------------------------------
Bianca Staudt
Bereavement Clinician
Home Health & Hospice Care
Merrimack, NH
------------------------------

We have a 6 week curriculum that was written or compiled by staff several years ago. We are in process of updating it now that we have used it several years and wondering if there are different things to include.
Week 1- Grief is normal
Week 2- The story of your grief.  We read Tear Soup
Week 3- Your personal journey and timeline of loss(es).
Week 4- Coping with the feelings you feel
Week 5 - Rebuilding your life - includes 5 tasks of grief work
Week 6 - Finding closure with letters or rituals.  Read poem "Grief has no closure(fortunately)"
Original Message:
Sent: 08-24-2022 10:08 AM
From: Joel Fletcher
Subject: 6 week group outline

I've been using "Understanding Your Grief" by Dr. Alan Wolfelt for our 6 week sessions:

For session #1 the group members openly share, I walk through the Mourners Bill of Rights, and provide and overview of chapter 1 "Embracing Your Loss."

For the subsequent weeks, I assign 2 chapters to read and we walk through them over the next 5 sessions. Not everyone reads the chapters but the topics spur discussion and I try and steer the sharing so it stays somewhat on point and doesn't take too many rabbit trails dominated by just a couple of people in the group.

At the start of each session, if new attendees are there, I give the first few minutes for introductions and to share about the loved one they are grieving.

We provide copies of the book for each attendee but we do not purchase the journals.

We've received positive feedback on the content and structure.

​​​

------------------------------
Joel Fletcher
Bereavement Coordinator, Commonwealth Hospice
Danville, VA

Original Message:
Sent: 08-23-2022 09:50 AM
From: Bianca Staudt
Subject: 6 week group outline

Hello Bereavement Folks,

We are looking at moving from an 8-week bereavement group model to a 6 week group model. As such, we are taking a look at our group outlines, and are curious if anyone might have a 6 week group outline they'd be willing to share? We are getting clearer about which topics we want to hone in on. I have some ideas, curious as well to hear what others find successful/supportive for participants?

Thank you!
Bianca


------------------------------
Bianca Staudt
Bereavement Clinician
Home Health & Hospice Care
Merrimack, NH
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 8/25/2022 11:26:00 AM
From: Juanita Steenbakkers
Subject: RE: 6 week group outline

We have a 6 week curriculum that was written or compiled by staff several years ago. We are in process of updating it now that we have used it several years and wondering if there are different things to include.
Week 1- Grief is normal
Week 2- The story of your grief.  We read Tear Soup
Week 3- Your personal journey and timeline of loss(es).
Week 4- Coping with the feelings you feel
Week 5 - Rebuilding your life - includes 5 tasks of grief work
Week 6 - Finding closure with letters or rituals.  Read poem "Grief has no closure(fortunately)"
Original Message:
Sent: 08-24-2022 10:08 AM
From: Joel Fletcher
Subject: 6 week group outline

I've been using "Understanding Your Grief" by Dr. Alan Wolfelt for our 6 week sessions:

For session #1 the group members openly share, I walk through the Mourners Bill of Rights, and provide and overview of chapter 1 "Embracing Your Loss."

For the subsequent weeks, I assign 2 chapters to read and we walk through them over the next 5 sessions. Not everyone reads the chapters but the topics spur discussion and I try and steer the sharing so it stays somewhat on point and doesn't take too many rabbit trails dominated by just a couple of people in the group.

At the start of each session, if new attendees are there, I give the first few minutes for introductions and to share about the loved one they are grieving.

We provide copies of the book for each attendee but we do not purchase the journals.

We've received positive feedback on the content and structure.

​​​

------------------------------
Joel Fletcher
Bereavement Coordinator, Commonwealth Hospice
Danville, VA

Original Message:
Sent: 08-23-2022 09:50 AM
From: Bianca Staudt
Subject: 6 week group outline

Hello Bereavement Folks,

We are looking at moving from an 8-week bereavement group model to a 6 week group model. As such, we are taking a look at our group outlines, and are curious if anyone might have a 6 week group outline they'd be willing to share? We are getting clearer about which topics we want to hone in on. I have some ideas, curious as well to hear what others find successful/supportive for participants?

Thank you!
Bianca


------------------------------
Bianca Staudt
Bereavement Clinician
Home Health & Hospice Care
Merrimack, NH
------------------------------

We designed our own curriculum so we can address the specific topics that I observed coming up frequently.
We do the following:

1) What is grief? How long will it last?
2) Why did this happen to me? (Spirituality session)
3) Diverse methods of coping
4) Engaging with others
5) Maintaining a connection
6) Hope

We've received great feedback about the group, and we actually had 30 people register for our last roun!

------------------------------
Anne Alesch, MDiv.
Bereavement Coordinator, Hospice
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 08-23-2022 09:50 AM
From: Bianca Staudt
Subject: 6 week group outline

Hello Bereavement Folks,

We are looking at moving from an 8-week bereavement group model to a 6 week group model. As such, we are taking a look at our group outlines, and are curious if anyone might have a 6 week group outline they'd be willing to share? We are getting clearer about which topics we want to hone in on. I have some ideas, curious as well to hear what others find successful/supportive for participants?

Thank you!
Bianca


------------------------------
Bianca Staudt
Bereavement Clinician
Home Health & Hospice Care
Merrimack, NH
------------------------------

Thank you all for taking the time to share & reflect! It is helpful as we hone in on pertinent topics, and I hope this thread is of use to others as well.

------------------------------
Bianca Staudt
Bereavement Clinician
Home Health & Hospice Care
Merrimack, NH
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 08-23-2022 09:50 AM
From: Bianca Staudt
Subject: 6 week group outline

Hello Bereavement Folks,

We are looking at moving from an 8-week bereavement group model to a 6 week group model. As such, we are taking a look at our group outlines, and are curious if anyone might have a 6 week group outline they'd be willing to share? We are getting clearer about which topics we want to hone in on. I have some ideas, curious as well to hear what others find successful/supportive for participants?

Thank you!
Bianca


------------------------------
Bianca Staudt
Bereavement Clinician
Home Health & Hospice Care
Merrimack, NH
------------------------------