Grief in Brief

During the months of July and August, we're re-broadcasting some of our top listened to episodes here on the podcast. Enjoy! Why is there an episode on a grief podcast with two brothers who run a boxing gym? In addition to the physical benefits from conditioning and exercise, gyms can be another place to find community. We know that having a community where one can feel a sense of belonging and co...

During the months of July and August, we're re-broadcasting some of our top listened to episodes here on the podcast. Enjoy! In this episode, Ken meets with Kathy Seltzer, an acupuncture care specialist to describe how emotions and feelings can get stored in the body causing physical problems. Acupuncture can free up the body to release these feelings and reduce physical and emotional pain. A prac...

During the months of July and August, we'll be re-broadcasting some of our top listened to episodes here on the podcast. Enjoy! In this episode Ken talks with psychologist and author, Matt Hersh about the growing field of energy psychology. Matt has been practicing for many years using EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques). These techniques are an evidenced based treatment method. The increased use a...

  During the months of July and August, we'll be re-broadcasting some of our top listened to episodes here on the podcast.  Enjoy! In this episode Ken sits with the Cofounder and CEO of Modern Loss, Rebecca Soffer. They discuss the development of the Global Community that is  Modern Loss  and how the telling of your story and having it validated is such a pathway to healing. Rebecca blends a warm,...

Lisa Coppola is a licensed mental health counselor who works with adult adoptees, she also has her own adoption story and history. She understands the duality of appreciating and having gratitude for adoption but also recognizing 4 types of loss that can be associated. Those losses include; loss of roots; loss of trust as a first experience; loss of physiological and emotional health; disenfranchi...

Stu McLeod's sister Sara was a highly educated, decorated, and acclaimed psychologist. She was a sought-after expert in the field of childhood trauma and sexual abuse. She then became stricken with early-onset Alzheimer's and the course of her family's life was altered. Just before she died Stu became involved with the Alzheimer's association raising money for their legislative as well as research...

On the night of December 20, 2021 Sandy Carter was at her boxing gym. She was in very good shape, felt fabulous, healthy, and then everything went blank. She woke up in a hospital on Christmas Eve morning and her first question was "who is teaching the class?" Sandy had gone into Sudden Cardiac Arrest, revived, and placed in a cold coma. In this episode Sandy describes the process of coming out of...

Maria first began studying the field of resilience over 30 years ago which organically led her to the science of positive psychology. Being able to hold paradoxical feelings simultaneously ("I can be sad and also happy") is the key to living a full life and at the heart of positivity and wellness. Living as if everything is "great" or the world is "terrible" are rooted in delusional thought. Howev...

This is the title of NY Times, bestselling author Susan Verde's new book. An accomplished children's author Susan dives into her first book for adults with a candid and honest memoir. In this episode, Ken and Susan discuss chapters dealing with nondeath losses as well as the chapter chronicling her father's death. They'll also discuss how self-compassion plays such a vital role in the management....

Dr. Lara Milane is a professor and researcher at Northeastern University. In this episode she discusses in a tender and raw way the death of her twin sister, Samantha Tari Jabr (Sam), died just before their 19th birthday. Lara describes with great candor and authenticity the traumas before and with Sam's death. Lara continues to feel a very strong connection to Sam's presence which motivates her q...

When Mai Richmond was 5 years old her father died from a two-year battle with cancer. She attended the Heartplay bereavement program, and it was the community and welcoming she needed to start to make sense of the world and her place in it. Mai was particularly influenced by the teen mentors in the program. In fact, she was so influenced that when her first grade teacher gave the "what do you want...

Julie Brennan is the founder and director of We Do Care, a grief and loss support center. The inspiration for Julie was that when she had a 3 year old and was 3 months pregnant, Julie got a knock on the door one night that no one ever wants to get; her husband was in a car crash and was killed. We Do Care offers Young Widows Connection groups, Social Connection Groups, Support services for childre...

Today's episode is a rebroadcasted episode from back in October, in honor of Mark directing a play, Time Stand's Still, that's opening this week! (For more info and tickets to the upcoming shows in Reading, MA.,  please click here. ) The narrative as a play unfolds often has underpinnings of grief and/or non-death loss. Even in comedies! Sometimes, this is obvious and sometimes it's a bit more sub...

Ken goes on the other side of the microphone to discuss his history of friend loss. Having had many friends die throughout his childhood and adolescence help to "install grief DNA" and set him on a career path of becoming a counselor. Enjoy this episode? Please give us a 5-star rating and share with someone who could benefit. Thanks for helping us get the show to more people who need it!  Follow K...

In the aftermath of a loss, as we are setting sail to parts unknown, we begin looking for a map. Where do we look? For over 70 years The Parmenter Foundation has been a charitable organization providing hope, support, and compassionate end-of-life care for those in the Boston Metrowest community. But more than that, Parmenter provides grants and resources for child and adolescent bereavement, hosp...

We often romanticize adolescence as a time of growth, emerging adulthood, and challenging beliefs. What gets left behind in emerging teens is perhaps the innocence of the world being smaller, kinder, gentler. Some teens bridge this change through substance use. When the substance use takes over there is social, emotional, developmental and learning lags. Recovery also has it's own sense of losing...

Wildflower is a program that helps children rediscover life after a loss. Wildflower supports children throughout their childhood and adolescence to have a fun summer. The support is financial and emotional in helping children (and their widowed parent) shift the paradigm from challenges of an unstructured summer to the joys of a camp experience. Audrey is the Executive Director of Wildflower and...

Pamela has directed bereavement programs for children and teens throughout her professional life and in the course of this work emphasized and researched the concept of Post Traumatic Growth. PTG is a theory that aims to describe positive changes and transformations that can accompany a traumatic and tragic event. In this episode Pamela and Ken discuss her work in acknowledging that while the loss...

Why is there an episode on a grief podcast with two brothers who run a boxing gym? In addition to the physical benefits from conditioning and exercise, gyms can be another place to find community. We know that having a community where one can feel a sense of belonging and connection can be highly therapeutic. With energy and passion Mark, Matt, and Ken discuss this concept. Follow Ken on Instagram...

Why is there an episode on a grief podcast with an attorney? Among the many stressors, uncertainties and anxieties that come with loss the legal documentation can be another stressor (and sometimes nice distraction). In this episode Ken and Susan discuss documentation related to power-of-attorney, health care proxies as well as wills and estates. Susan is a partner in the firm of Brier, Marandett...

There are times when physical hurts can lead to psychological distress or psychological distress can go to the body in the form of physical pain. Kim discusses with Ken in this episode how massage therapy can be of physical and mental benefit. Treatments can be corrective, proactive or maintenance in nature. Nevertheless, the literal and metaphorical release of hurts in our bodies can bring relief...

What we eat, how we eat, when we eat can be habitual. "While you form habits, your habits form you", says Gabrielle McGrath a register dietician and nutrition coach who is the founder of the Wellpower Method. When we are grieving or struggling in our day to day we may fall back on old habits of eating – healthy or not. What behaviors around eating do you want to reinforce or extinguish? In this ep...

Pets are part of our family; they are with us through perhaps some of our biggest life moments, they love us unconditionally and consistently show up for us. They are never too busy, overscheduled or don't have time. In this episode Ken and E.B. discuss the complexities of the process when a pet dies. Follow Ken on Instagram HERE. Download the free self care worksheets HERE.

The narrative as a play unfolds often has underpinnings of grief and/or non-death loss. Even in comedies! Sometimes, this is obvious and sometimes it's a bit more subtle. The entrance into the characters psyche in the live format that is theatre can be powerful. Also, the "audience as a group" can validate and break down any feelings of isolation the viewer may be having. Mark has been a local to...

Breathing is the first thing we do when we are born, the last thing we do before dying and every moment in between. We breathe every day, but do we know how to do it? Do we know what purpose it serves for us beyond the obvious? Do we know how to get maximum benefit and how breathing can impact our mental health? Franny is a yoga instructor who emphasizes the critical nature of breathwork in her pr...