Gloria Horsley

Dr. Gloria Horsley is an internationally known grief expert, psychotherapist, and bereaved parent. She started "Open to Hope" to help the millions in the world with grief. She is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Clinical Nurse Specialist, and has worked in the field of family therapy for over 20 years. Dr. Horsley hosts the syndicated internet radio show, The Grief Blog which is one of the top ranked shows on Health Voice America. She serves the Compassionate Friends in a number of roles including as a Board of Directors, chapter leader, workshop facilitator, and frequently serves as media spokesperson. Dr. Horsley is often called on to present seminars throughout the country. She has made appearances on numerous television and radio programs including "The Today Show," "Montel Williams," and "Sallie Jessie Raphael." In addition, she has authored a number of articles and written several books including Teen Grief Relief with Dr. Heidi Horlsey, and The In-Law Survival Guide.

Articles:

Healing Through Art: Interview with Sharon Strouse

At the annual ADEC Conference, I had the opportunity to speak with Sharon Strouse of The Kristin Rita Strouse Foundation and discuss with her ways to deal with grief after losing a child. Sharon is also the author of a book called Artful Grief: A Diary of Healing. Using her book, anyone can create their own collage and begin the process of moving through grief. In the video below, Sharon shares how to use art therapy to heal. Here are some key takeaways from the video: Sharon lost her daughter to suicide on October 11, 2001. About a year after […]

Death, Dying and Grief in an Online Universe: Interview with Carla Sofka

At the annual ADEC Conference, I had the opportunity to speak with Carla Sofka and discuss with her how to deal with grief. Carla is the editor of the book Dying, Death, and Grief In An Online Universe. This book looks at grieving in an online world and talks about how it is affecting the way we grieve, and the way people are getting their information about the loss of a loved one or friend. In the interview below, Carla and I discuss how the process of dealing with death, dying, and grief is changing in today’s connected world. Here […]

What Gives Hope: Interview with Nancy Gershman, Memory Artist

For Open To Hope Foundation’s “What Gives Hope?” video, artist Nancy Gershman tells founder Gloria Horsley that her prescriptive photomontages give three reasons to hope. From what she’s learned from her end of life clients and their bereaved families, these portraits are: Tangible objects that are wearable, mail-able, and displayable., but you can also talk to them; A natural way to “campaign” for the deceased and everything they stand for; Talismans that encourage grieving people to re-integrate themselves into the land of the living, every time they share one. Nancy Gershman is a memory artist – part oral historian, part digital […]

The Faces of Disenfranchised Grief: An Interview with Peggy Sapphire

The following are introductory remarks by Peggy Sapphire, author of two poetry collections (A Possible Explanation, Partisan Press, In the End a Circle, Antrim House ’09). I got into the field of death and dying to explore of my own “disenfranchised grief. In my case, my ex-spouse, diagnosed over the last seven years, with two terminal illnesses, has caused an extended and more enlightened consideration of the impact of his death on the significant period of our marriage on my personal history. The writing process was both healing and revelatory. Healing can include creativity, rituals or any other ideas you […]

Removing the Kimono of Mourning: Interview with Anne Carson

One of the most important things in anyone’s bereavement process is to find what works personally/individually. There is an opportunity for much creativity in this process. The video features me (Anne Carson) reading the title poem in my collection, Removing the Kimono, and describing how the death of my husband prompted me to write a series of poems about our relationship, his sickness and death and my bereavement. I talk about how our Western cultures aren’t very good at supporting bereaved people and how we can learn from other cultures about this. While my husband was sick and then in […]

Ministry of Bereavement: Interview with Ronald Ritter

Today, we had the privilege to interview Ron Ritter about a very basic tool that will assist people of faith to minister intelligently and effectively to those who grieve. The turning point for Ritter was when the shackles of clinical depression were removed five years after his son Steve’s death when he could focus his full energies into the ministry of bereavement. Here is the full interview: Ron Ritter was born the 7 September 1938. Born and Raised in Baltimore, MD. B.S. Business Administration, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA. B.Th. Concordia Theological Seminary, Springfield, IL 1970. Ordained, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, […]

Childhood Grief: An Interview with Chase Roberts

In this video, Jesse Roberts, the author of Katie the Ladybug: Explaining Emotions of Grief to a Child, speaks of his own experiences and encourages those who are helping grieving children to be honest, concrete, and sensitive when discussing the topic of death. Losing both of my parents before the age of 16 inspired me to immerse myself in the field of death and dying in hopes that I may be able to help others who are experiencing grief after the loss of a parent. I did not want these experiences to be wasted, and through helping others have been […]

Grieving for Dad: Interview with Lara Rogers-Krawchuk

By Lara Rogers-Krawchuk In this video, I will share lessons learned from my long time work as an oncology social worker, therapist, adjunct professor, and lover of the contemporary concept of meaning making along a grief journey. I will also offer personal insights from being the daughter of a dad who died much too young and at the totally “wrong” time. Life as a griever with two young children was very hard, but I found hope every day in their smiling faces and exploration of a world still worth living in. I believe my father continues to live on as […]

Creating Sacred Space: Interview with Rev. Ian Smith

This was a brief interview done with Dr. Gloria Horsley on April 24, 2014 at the 36th Annual Conference of the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) from April 23-26 in Baltimore, MD. The speaker is Rev. Ian Smith. I am an ordained minister of the United Church of Canada and working as a congregational pastor in suburban Montréal, Québec, Canada. I am also the volunteer Spiritual Care Coordinator for the West Island Palliative Care Residence in Kirkland, Québec, since October 2003. I became very interested in the field of death and dying in 1982 when a part of […]

Researcher Seeking Las Vegas-area Parents for Bereaved Study

INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE A research study is being conducted to gain a greater understanding of the experiences of bereaved parents. The purpose of this study is to expand on existing knowledge and potentially reduce the isolation experienced by the bereaved. Selected participants will include biological and adoptive parents, who have experienced the death of a child, and whose child was between the ages of 2 and 12 at the time of death. The child’s death must have occurred prior to November 3, 2011 and parents must reside in the Las Vegas, Nevada area. Each qualified participant, after consenting to participation, […]

Open to Hope is an online community offering inspirational stories of loss, hope and recovery. We believe hope is the bridge between loss and recovery.