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Do Funerals Matter?

Posted on December 27, 2017 - by Gloria Horsley

The author of the book Do Funerals Matter?, Bill Hoy, talked with Dr. Gloria Horsley during the 2015 Association of Death Education and Counseling conference. “Throughout the world and throughout history, we keep doing a handful of things,” Hoy explains. He’s identified five “anchors” that are often found in funeral rituals throughout time and all around the globe. Rituals are very common, and are a great means of expression when words aren’t enough. Doing so with anchors is a common human experience, including: Using symbols from caskets to flowers, gathering people, a means of walking through the loss (ritual action) […]

When the Final Words Were Angry

Posted on December 26, 2017 - by Gloria Horsley

I’m sure you have heard the marriage advice “Don’t go to bed angry.” Resolving spats before bedtime is the advice offered by almost any long-married couple. What happens when differences can’t be resolved? When the night comes when, through fluke or chance, the marriage ends through a sudden death and there are no more bedtimes together? One couple had lived by that piece of advice their whole marriage, yet despite their love of 24 years, through college, children and careers the last words were full of venom. Bridget told me that she could not forgive herself for speaking harshly to […]

Waiting for God to Respond to a Prayer

Posted on December 22, 2017 - by Charles W. Sidoti

There is a classic psychological question you may be familiar with that is related to our ability to wait on God: “If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it, does it still make a sound?” When we pray the words of the Serenity Prayer, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference,” we present God with three requests. 1) The first request is for the ability to accept the things that we cannot change. Here […]

Why Some Families are Resilient

Posted on December 20, 2017 - by Gloria Horsley

Kathleen Gilbert is based at Indiana University and specializes in grief counseling with military members and their families—however, she also works to help families build resiliency during deployment (without any deaths occurring). Gilbert spoke to Dr. Gloria Horsley during the 2015 Association on Death Education and Counseling conference about what she’s working on and how grief in military families is a niche. Members of the Indiana National Guard were Gilbert’s first clients, and she operated a camp to help with healing, processing and grieving. In all cases (so far), it has been fathers who were deployed. For the most part […]

7 Survival Strategies for the Newly Bereaved

Posted on December 17, 2017 - by Tambre Leighn

As a grief recovery coach, I often get emails from people who have just recently suffered a loss. They all want to know the same thing. What can they do to get through the pain, sadness, and grief? Here are some strategies my clients have found to be helpful. 7 Strategies for Navigating Loss: Practice grace with yourself. Allow yourself to do what you need to take care of you without judging yourself for any actions you do or don’t take. Don’t let others tell you how to grieve. There is no right or wrong way. There is only your […]

Keep the Door to Your Soul Open

Posted on December 17, 2017 - by Elizabeth Brady

I was given a pocket size daily devotional after Mack died called “Healing After Loss” written by Martha Whitmore Hickman, who was also a bereaved parent. I carried it in my purse for two years until the binding weakened, the cover fell off, and each page was dotted with notes and stained with my tears. One of the daily reflections was actually credited to her own grandmother, who had also lost a child. She wrote, “Keep the door to your soul open” to your loved one. This notion struck me and I copied it down in my own journal. I had begun to experience a variety of dreams, visions, […]

How to Treat a Grieving Person: Be Real

Posted on December 17, 2017 - by Kim Shute

I am now two years out from the unexpected and traumatic death of my husband, which means countless people have lifted me up and cared for me when I could not do it myself. In and among those wonderful helpful friends and family, there have been some responses to my grief and mourning that were not just unhelpful, but hurtful. Given recent national conversations around grief, I feel the need to say something about what words people said to me that were most supportive, and highlight some responses that did not work for me. The socially accepted, “sorry for your loss,” […]

The Response of Men After a Miscarriage with Stephanie Rose

Posted on December 15, 2017 - by Heidi Horsley

At the annual ADEC (Association of Death Education and Counseling), I spoke with Stephanie Rose about men and miscarriage and the unacknowledged loss. Men sometimes respond differently to miscarriages. Stephanie explains more about this in the video below. Here are some key takeaways from the video: Stephanie’s research suggests that men can experience an array of emotions after their wife has had a miscarriage, but those emotions often brushed under the rug. When a man’s wife experiences a miscarriage, the man always gets asked “how is your wife doing?” vs. “how are you feeling?” A man’s feelings in this situation […]

Communication training plans 1 to 5 for school pupils that are middle

Posted on December 11, 2017 - by Robert Neimeyer

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Remembering a Big Sister Who Struggled with Eating Disorder

Posted on December 8, 2017 - by Judy Lipson

I never comprehended the summer of 1970. At age 14, I witnessed my beautiful older sister Margie fading away when she picked me up from overnight camp. My sister whom I idolized was a shadow of herself. For so many years, I had held on to who I wanted her to be. Our lives would later veer off the path into a detour neither of us could have fathomed. Despite it all, Margie and I shared a closeness only sisters understand. Although physically I could witness Margie’s decline, my heart always wanted the sister I looked up to. I felt […]