Grief in Brief

It's the summer and if you're a child it can and should be a time of play! This episode is part 1 of 2, and is dedicated to the fine art of play. When Ken got together with Steve and Jon their cumulative years of experience using play as a therapeutic tool was close to 100 years. Steve is the Chief Playmaker for the Life is Good Playmakers and Jon is the Executive Director at the Children's Room....

The title of this episode is also the title of Christina's new book. As a mental health provider, teacher, trainer, artist and griever Christina has supported thousands in their grief process in multiple ways. She has developed grief support concepts such as The Waiting Room and The Life Reentry Model. When speaking with Christina wisdom flows from her words and she is one of the rare people whose...

What do you do when an unfathomable tragedy such as losing both your parents at the age of 3 happens to you? You grow up to be a grief therapist who supports those who are members of the parentless, parents club. While Randi's grief support expands to many walking their first steps after a loss it is with honor and dignity, she contributes to the healing of those who are parentless parents. She di...

Chronic mental health and mental illness impact not only those who suffer from them but also their extended families and support systems. There are associated losses around expectations and hopes for those connected to the person. A diagnosis and a hospitalization can be traumatic and have a feeling of grief for the "patient" as well as their networks. The corresponding feelings are often thought...

Our autonomic nervous system (ANS) is our friend. It tries to protect us when we are faced with threat, danger, or any time we perceive the situation to not be safe. The ANS controls unconscious bodily processes and has two main branches. The sympathetic branch controls our fight or flight responses while the parasympathetic branch helps us to "rest and digest" and feel emotionally safe and social...

Approximately 85% of the kids the My Life, My Choice program serves in eastern Ma are involved with DCF. Just by being in DCF care indicates a history of trauma before being trafficked. Wherever there is trauma there is grief. Lisa co-developed and co-executive directs My Life, My Choice. The program she has developed incorporates a survivor led staff focusing on values of empowerment, equity, com...

What is EMDR? Perhaps you've heard of it but don't know what it is. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. While practitioners may vary their approach to implementing this form of therapy the intended outcomes are similar: Reduce the stress and distress connected to traumatic memories. Dance Movement Therapy utilizes the connection between movement and emotion to aid in people gaining grea...

People can come to know us through the activities we engage in. What happens to our identity when we are absent from those activities? When we sustain a physical injury that prohibits us from doing the things we like to do, we lose a little piece of who we are. Physical therapy may heal the physical problem but what about the psychological part? That can take longer, extending our time away from '...

Loss is continuous throughout our lifetime. Even though we know this our instinct might be to push away this reality. When we have had complicated, continuous and/or traumatic loss these can trigger additional mental health issues. There are many interventions and paths to help reduce the suffering. When "nothing works" the use of Esketamine in conjunction with treatments can aid in 'treatment-res...

Approximately 25% of women have some type of reproductive health issues. These can range from being able to get pregnant, stay pregnant or have post pregnancy complications. Both females and males have a birth story. This story can start when they are very young and begin to think what it may be like to be a parent one day. When conception is not as simple as "just getting pregnant", grief and the...

Cory is a news anchor for NBC10 Boston. He has also worked as a field and investigative reporter during his career. In this episode Cory, an Edward Murrow and Emmy award winner, describes how many stories in the news involve grief – from death or non-death losses. Covering loss can have an impact on the mind and soul of the reporter. Reporters are humans too and when your job requires you to engag...

When Sasha was 7 years old, she knew she experienced things differently than others her age. She had visions and images of those in another world. While this felt confusing, overwhelming, and scary, over time she cultivated this gift into being a conduit between those grieving someone who had died and the deceased. She knows when she gets the vibrational feeling connecting into others and when she...

While some people are familiar with birth doulas not many are aware of death doulas. Birth doulas help prospective parents bring a child into the world, death doulas assist people in helping their loved ones exit the world. Pamela is a certified death doula and describes how they help the bereaved embrace loss through empowerment and awareness of options to celebrate a life. "Living wakes" and the...

After the sudden and tragic losses of her brother and teenage son within a short period of time, songs Deb had written previously took on new meaning and purpose. Further, the need for movement, expressing through art and nature and connecting with others was never more paramount. This culminated with her book, Book of Walks . In this spirited episode Ken and Deb discuss this process of moving thr...

In 2022 the Grief in Brief podcast engaged in discussions with Authors Rebecca Soffer and E.B. Bartels. Also presented in back-to-back format is Rebecca discussing Modern Loss: Candid Conversations About Loss: Beginners Welcome in the previously re-broadcasted episode, and E.B. leading us through pet loss conversations in  Good Grief; On Loving Pets, Here and Hereafter in this one. Enjoy this epis...

In 2022, the Grief in Brief podcast engaged in discussions with Authors Rebecca Soffer and E.B. Bartels. Also presented in back-to-back format is Rebecca discussing Modern Loss: Candid Conversations About Loss: Beginners Welcome and in the next episode, you'll hear E.B. leading us through pet loss conversations in  Good Grief; On Loving Pets, Here and Hereafter. Enjoy this episode? Please give us...

Following up on two episodes back with author Colin Campbell we decided to rebroadcast Grief in Brief episodes featuring authors Susan Verde and Maria Sirois. In the previous episode, you will hear Susan discuss her book  Say One Kind Thing, Lessons in Acceptance, Love and Letting Go and in this episode, Maria will talk about positive psychology and its influence on her book A Short Course in Happ...

Following up on the last episode with author Colin Campbell we decided to rebroadcast Grief in Brief episodes featuring authors Susan Verde and Maria Sirois. You will hear Susan discuss her book Say One Kind Thing, Lessons in Acceptance, Love and Letting Go and Maria will talk about positive psychology and its influence on her book A Short Course in Happiness After Loss. Their episodes are being r...

This is the title of Colin Campbell's highly impactful book chronicling his grief process in the aftermath of the death of his two teenage children. Ruby and Hart were killed by a drunk and high driver in 2019. A week after their death Colin began writing an acclaimed play titled Grief: A One Man Shitshow. With rawness, rage, and humor we walk the painful steps with him. When the pandemic began th...

Chronic mental health and mental illness impact not only those who suffer from them but also their extended families and support systems. There are associated losses around expectations and hopes for those connected to the person. A diagnosis and a hospitalization can be traumatic and have a feeling of grief for the "patient" as well as their networks. The corresponding feelings are often thought...

This is the title of Dr Peter Langman's most recent book which he discusses with Ken. Dr. Langman is the Director of Research and School Safety Training at Drift Net and was a researcher for five years with the National Threat Assessment Center of the U.S. Secret Service. He reminds us that "We're all on duty", dispels the myths and stereotypes of shooter's profiles, and asks us to be aware of stu...

Steve Watson has been the senior pastor at the Reservoir Church in Cambridge, Mass. since July 2013. Together with Ken they discuss the inclusive community that is the Reservoir Church. Their talk includes the non-death losses that can apply to marginalized people, and about weekly community based group discussions where members can be heard and validated, regardless of any religious overlay. Last...

In this episode Ken talks with Jon Gay the Executive Director of the Children's Room. They discuss the many avenues for addressing child loss and bereavement. The Children's Room believes "no child should grieve alone" and thus create a "space and a place" for children and their caregivers. By utilizing a peer support group model which involves talk, play therapy and art therapy they help children...

In this episode Ken talks with the founder and executive director of Horse SenseAbility, Polly Kornblith. Polly got her start with the therapeutic use of animals by utilizing therapy dogs with adolescent males in a residential facility. From there grew her current program of horseback riding and care for horses with children, adolescents' and young adults who have experienced grief, loss, and/or t...

Jennifer Wiles is the Director of Heartplay and Camp Erin programs at Good Shepherd Community Care. She is also on the Board of Directors for the National Alliance for Children's Grief. In this episode she discusses with Ken trends in child bereavement - both the kinds of losses that are bringing children and teens in for counseling and how their expressions of grief are manifesting in sessions. A...