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John Fox: Poetry as Grief Therapy

Posted on October 16, 2015 - by Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley

Poetry is a fantastic avenue for art therapy. Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley welcome John Fox, a poet and certified poetry therapist. He’s the author of Poetic Medicine: The Healing Art of Poem-making and Finding What You Didn’t Lose. He’s also the president of The Institute for Poetic Medicine, a non-profit which was created in 2005 to offer poetry/healing projects around the country to the bereaved. “Some people have already been drawn to poetry and write it, while others feel they’re not capable of it or it’s not really something that appeals to them,” he says. His goal? Meet with […]

What We Expect of Men

Posted on October 12, 2015 - by Bob Baugher

As a bi-coastal radio show, Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley interview experts around the world. This episode features Dr. Bob Baugher, a psychology instructor at Highline Community College in Des Moines, Washington. He teaches courses in death education and psychology. He’s also a popular national speaker, and has written several articles and seven books on grief and bereavement. His most current project is a video, “Men & Their Grief; 20 Years Later,” where he follows men on their grief journey over a two decade period. People are more alike than they are different, says Dr. Baugher, and that’s true when […]

Cathy Babao Guballa: When Children Get Ill

Posted on October 11, 2015 - by Heidi Horsley

The founder of Migi’s Corner, Cathy Babao Guballa, speaks with Dr. Heidi Horsley during an Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) conference. As a writer and grief educator, Guballa created Migi’s Corner as a space in pediatric charity wards throughout the Philippines. It was founded in 1998 after Guballa’s four-year-old son, Migi, died from complications during an open heart surgery. Children who are confined to hospitals in the Philippines have a very different experience compared to American children. There’s no such thing as a “children’s ward” actually designed to comfort and entertain children. That’s changed a bit since then, […]

Amy Florian: Healing After Loss

Posted on October 10, 2015 - by Gloria Horsley

Dr. Gloria Horsley talks with Amy Florian during an Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) conference about how to heal after losing a loved one. Florian is the founder and CEO of Corgenius, which was named after “cor” (Latin for “heart”) and “genius” for brain. Connecting hearts to the brains and businesses is her calling. She speaks with businesses, healthcare organizations, and faith-based organizations. We need people to come into our organizations because although we all have hearts, they get hidden. We live in denial, and remove death from our daily lives. We use hospitals as an excuse to […]

Apl.de.ap: Death by Suicide

Posted on October 9, 2015 - by Dr. Gloria and Dr. Heidi Horsley

Drs. Gloria and Heidi Horsley interview The Black Eyed Peas’ Apl.de.ap, who shares his song “I Cry” on the Open to Hope radio show. The story behind this song is one that few people know—the suicide of his brother and how it impacted his entire family. He’s an original member of The Black Eyed Peas, growing with the group as they moved from a small hip hop community to a global phenomenon. Selling 7.5 million albums worldwide, the winner of three Grammy’s and nominated for four more, he says he’s fortunate to be able to write and share music that’s […]

Reinvesting in Living After the Loss of a Loved One

Posted on October 8, 2015 - by Howard Winokuer

How can you get back to living after you lose someone you love? That was the topic of discussion between Dr. Gloria Horsley and Dr. Howard Winokuer during an Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) conference. As the president of ADEC, Winokuer has dedicated his life to helping the bereaved in their healing process. In the early stages, it can be common to feel like you can’t go on. There’s a thin line between grief and depression. However, it’s a mark of grief when the bereaved begin to seek out meaning in life after a loss. Getting there is […]

In the Forest: Unsettled by a Stillbirth

Posted on October 8, 2015 - by Larry Patten

Serena asked me to help bury her child. This question occurred a couple of years after we met. I wonder now if Serena’s request, accompanied by her intense gaze, had been within her heart when she first worshiped at the rural church I then served. Her stillborn child, named Eve, was carried to near the due date. After her birth, Serena and her husband Jake shoveled a hole in the dark forest behind their cabin and lowered their child into the earth. There wasn’t any ritual, or prayers. According to Serena, they trudged back to the cabin, returned to their […]

Silently Born

Posted on October 7, 2015 - by Pamela Christie

Our lives were forever changed on November 10, 2013. Our granddaughter, Sophia Grace, was silently born. No warning. No signs. No heartbeat. We questioned the midwives, who acted like it was another day “at the office,” and the doctor, who said our daughter could go home for a day or two to prepare herself to give birth to a dead baby. We questioned and blamed ourselves – how could we not have known? The baby had been quiet before, and we had gone to the hospital to check on her … all was well. It is believed by many that […]

Traumatic Loss in the Military

Posted on October 7, 2015 - by Bonnie Carroll

Military loss is a unique kind of loss, but many others have been in your shoes. Bonnie Carroll shares her experience with Dr. Gloria Horsley. Carroll is the founder of TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors in the military). According to her, military loss is a very different experience. There are different words in our culture to talk about these kinds of losses. Someone “gave the ultimate sacrifice” and there’s even a national day of mourning. There are national cemeteries just for those who died in the military. You can find these throughout the country. These are all ways we […]

Healing after Murder

Posted on October 6, 2015 - by Mary Jane Cronin

At the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) conference, Dr. Gloria Horsley interviews Mary Jane Cronin, the author of November Mourning and someone who has personal experience with healing after murder. She works in hospice care, following the murder of her son Jeremy in 1998. Comfort and solace following her loss is what inspired her to work in hospice care. After his murder, she felt like she had nobody to turn to. She began journaling and writing letters to heaven. Cronin found support in online support communities. Following Jeremy’s trial, she found incredible support from victim advocate groups. Talking […]