Heidi Horsley

Dr. Heidi Horsley is a licensed psychologist, social worker, and bereaved sibling. She co-hosts the award-winning weekly cable television show and podcast, Open to Hope. Dr. Heidi is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, and an award-winning author, who has co-authored eight books, and serves on the United Nations Global Mental Health Task Force. She also serves on the Advisory Boards for the Tragedy Assistance Program, the Elisabeth Kubler-Ross Foundation, and Peace of Mind Afghanistan. She served on the National Board of Directors for The Compassionate Friends, and for 10 yrs. worked on a Columbia University research study looking at traumatic loss over time in families who lost a firefighter in the World Trade Center.

Articles:

Sibling Bereavement

Dr. Heidi Horsley interviews Dr. Betty Davies, a professor and senior scholar at the University of Victoria’s School of Nursing. Also a professor emeritus at the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Davies wrote Shadows in the Sun: The Experiences of Sibling Bereavement in Childhood for her students, those who have lost a sibling themselves, or anyone in the bereavement field. A leader in the field of sibling bereavement, Dr. Davies says she thinks of this type of bereavement as happening in a larger context. Look at the bereaved child in the context of his school, family, community, culture, and […]

Cathy Babao Guballa: When Children Get Ill

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, […]

Dana Brophy: Siblings the Forgotten Mourners

Dana Brophy is the daughter of Alan Pedersen, Executive Director of The Compassionate Friends. Her personal experience with sibling loss has unfortunately made Brophy an expert on sibling loss. Her brother, Sean, died when he was 21 in a car accident. He was her only sibling and, even though she wasn’t a young child when he died, she found herself in the unique situation of suddenly having very protective parents. Her family is involved with Angels Across the USA, and Alan is a singer-songwriter who now specializes in grief music and performances. “Sean was a very fun, hilarious guy,” Dana […]

Brianne Overton: Helping Teens Grieve

Brianne Overton tells Dr. Heidi Horsley at the 2015 Association for Death Education and Counseling conference that teens really don’t have a voice when it comes to grief. Since they’re in between children and adults, many adults think they’ll grieve similarly to their more mature peers, but that isn’t the case. Teens are in a demographic of their own and they do grieve differently. Plus, in the Digital Era, more and more teens look online for support and have developed their own methods (which is why the phrase “funeral selfie” is a reality). Adults might think teens aren’t grieving because […]

Siblings Forgotten Mourners

When Dr. Heidi Horsley was in college, she lost her 17-year-old brother Scott in a car accident. “The loss was so severe for me and the pain was so great, I honestly didn’t know how I was going to survive or if I even wanted to.” She remembers the early years, and how many people told her she needed to be strong for her parents. Not only was that advice unhelpful, but it was also hurtful. Today, as an industry expert on grief and loss, Dr. Horsley shares the best tips for coping and healing when you experience a loss. […]

Continuing Bonds with Brittany Trauthwein

A doctoral student at the Chicago Professional School of Psychology, Brittany Trauthwein, spoke with Dr. Heidi Horsley at the 2015 Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) conference about continuing bonds after a loss. Her dissertation is specifically on continuing those bonds after the death of a parent. Trauthwein began her research after connecting with ADEC one year after losing her father. She heard stories of people continuing bonds and relationships with their parents and loved ones, which piqued her interest. “I just immediately loved it and knew it was how I was going to go through my grief journey,” […]

Roberta Moore on the Power of Near Death-Experiences

Author, speaker and filmmaker Roberta Moore talked with Dr. Heidi Horsley at the 2015 Association for Death Education and Counseling conference about grief, loss and near death experiences. Having a near-death experience can change how people deal with grief and loss. For Moore, she had a near death experience at 13 years old, which led to a spontaneous out of body experience. In her 30s, she had an “experience of the light,” which she recalls as wonderful. Dr. Horsley relates, having had her own experience of the light after being in a head-on collision. She passed out, went into the […]

Sibling Loss and The Compassionate Friends with Stephen Stott

Stephen Stott, a Columbia University graduate and one of Dr. Heidi Horsley’s former students, is in the field of sibling loss after losing his own sister in 2002. Stott’s mother started attending The Compassionate Friends meetings immediately, but it took Stott over a decade to join. His mother asked if he felt comfortable going, and for the first time since his sister died, he said yes. “I think the experience was great, but I was nervous,” he says. He didn’t know what to expect, he didn’t know the people, but found it was helpful to be around people who had […]

Giving Back After Coping with a Loss with Dr. Janna Henning

When Dr. Janna Henning experienced her own loss, it encouraged her to help others in similar situations heal. Dr. Henning talked with Dr. Heidi Horsley at the 2015 Association for Death Education and Counseling conference. Dr. Henning was in a car crash when she was 22, and literally experienced having her best friend die on top of her. Six years later, nearly to the day, she lost her partner in a bike-truck accident. “Having those two losses in my 20s I think really influenced my way of understanding (that) in some way the world doesn’t understand those losses.” When 20-somethings […]

Stephanie Rose: Response of Men After Miscarriage

Stephanie Rose talks with Dr. Heidi Horsley about how men handle a miscarriage, an often unspoken trauma. A doctoral student at Purdue University, Rose is studying how men respond following a miscarriage. Dr. Horsley has had two miscarriages, and recalls it seeming like her own experience—her husband’s lack of support due to society’s minimized importance of the experience for him. Rose says that’s common. “Unfortunately, when people talk to the man…they’re saying ‘how is your wife?’” Men, of course, can experience a variety of emotions during this time but it’s brushed under the rug. The focus is usually on the […]

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.