I was concerned that it might be too soon to begin processing this devastating loss in the presence of others. However, the community of group members and our facilitator, D’Lareg, became accountability partners and a support system as I identified and began to process many losses, including death, divorce, and maternal abandonment. Our facilitator’s knowledge of the Grief Recovery program and text, calm demeanor, as well as his ability to validate each group member’s perspective and experience created a safe space in which this very emotional work could be completed. The homework activities challenged me to think, feel, and act, which resulted in my ability to use healthy strategies to better understand grief and to begin to move through the healing process. While through the work in group, I eventually needed to focus on a single loss for my assignments, I learned skills and strategies that will allow me to move forward from other losses and future challenges. I am thrilled and thankful I had the opportunity to participate in this program. - LS 

D'Lareg is an excellent counselor. He was very attentive and showed lots of compassion. That was honestly one thing I was nervous about with having a male counselor, but he definitely surpassed my expectations. He provided a safe space for me to be completely open and honest, as he was also very open and honest about his past experiences with grief. I am very grateful for the time spent helping me. SA

With lifelong tools to help me overcome the unhealed wounds of grief.  D'Lareg created a welcoming environment that made me comfortable with openly sharing the losses that I've experienced.  Each session was engaging and informative with take-home assignments.

 We created a loss history graph that was used as a tool to identify every moment of grief that I experienced.  It was difficult to think about those moments, but it helped me gain awareness of the internal misinformation that I told myself throughout each experience.  The grief recovery book served as an outline to help us understand the intensity of each moment of grief.  

 In summary, the class has enhanced my overall quality of life.  I have the tools to manage grief.  We debunked the falsehood that time is the only healing factor of grief.