NEW! Anticipatory Grief Drop-In Support Groups
1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the Month
FREE online Anticipatory Grief drop-in support groups for caregivers and patients coping with expected loss on the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month.
This is a safe space to express your emotions without judgment. It's a
place where you can be honest about your feelings. Whether you are sad, anxious, angry, guilty, or even relieved, know you won't be judged or misunderstood here.
Grief Education Webinars
Grief is a natural and organic response to loss.
During Conversations On Grief™ webinars, you'll learn how grief and mourning impacts our life physically, emotionally, cognitively, socially, and spiritually.
You will receive proven, practical ways to help navigate the wilderness of your grief day by day.
Conversations On Grief Webinars
If You're Lonely
Finding Your Way
Ironically, if you are lonely, you’re
not alone. People the world over are experiencing an epidemic of loneliness.
In the US, one in five of us reports feeling lonely, and almost half of seniors are lonely on a regular basis.
Loneliness hurts, and it can lead to depression, addiction, physical problems, and other harmful consequences.
When you attend this webinar,
you'll learn:
How to Better Understand
Your Loneliness
The Important Distinction
Between Isolation and Solitude
Practical Suggestions
for Reclaiming Community
How to Build Meaningful
Connections In Ways That Suit You
Finding your way back to companionship and hope is not
only possible, it’s essential.
You deserve to feel better.
You deserve connection. This webinar will help you find your way.
This webinar is based on
If You’re Lonely: Finding Your Way
by Alan D Wolfelt, PH.D.
Visit www.centerforloss.com
to learn more.
Date
May 15, 2025
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
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Future Dates
August 28, 2025
November 13, 2025
Nature Heals
Reconciling Your Grief Through Engaging with the Natural World
When we’re grieving, we need
relief from our pain.
Today, we often turn to technology for distraction when what we really need is the opposite: generous doses of nature.
Studies show that time spent outdoors lowers blood pressure, eases depression and anxiety, bolsters the immune system, lessens stress, and even makes us more compassionate.
When you attend this webinar,
you'll learn;
Why Engaging with the Natural
World Is So Effective at
Helping Reconcile Grief
Tips for Bringing Short Bursts of Nature Time (indoors and outdoors) Into Your Everyday Life
How to Actively Mourn in Nature
This webinar is your shortcut to hope and healing…the natural way.
This webinar is based on Nature Heals
Reconciling Your Grief Through
Engaging with the Natural World
by Alan D Wolfelt, PH.D.
Visit www.centerforloss.com
to learn more.
Date
June 5, 2025
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
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Future Dates
September 11, 2025
November 20, 2025
Grieving the "Other Losses"
Acknowledging and Mourning
ALL Your Losses Along Life's Path
If you're struggling with life changes and losses, this webinar is for you!
We often equate the death of a loved one with the word “loss,” but many other challenges are often deeply painful as well, from divorce and other relationship changes to health and financial problems, normal life transitions, community or work
losses, and many more.
Which “other losses” are weighing on you most heavily? They need your
attention and care.
This webinar will guide you in acknowledging and mourning the “other losses” fully so you can live fully again. It will also help you continue to thrive even as you inevitably encounter
“other losses” to come.
The webinar is based on The Other Losses: Acknowledging and Mourning All Your Losses Along Life's Path
by Alan D. Wolfelt, PH.D.
Visit www.centerforloss.com
to learn more.
Date
June 12, 2025
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
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Future Dates
September 18, 2025
December 4, 2025
Too Much Loss
Coping with Grief Overload
If you are feeling overwhelmed by too much loss in your life, this webinar
is for you.
Grief overload is what you feel when you experience too many significant losses all at once, in a relatively short period of time, or cumulatively. In addition to the deaths of loved ones, such losses can also include divorce, estrangement, illness, relocation,
job changes, and more.
Our minds and hearts have enough trouble coping with a single loss, so when the losses pile up the grief often seems especially chaotic and defeating.
The good news is that through intentional, active mourning, you can and will find your way back to
hope and healing.
When you attend this webinar
you’ll learn:
What grief overload is
and how to cope with it
What you may think and feel when you are experiencing grief overload
Your six needs of mourning and
how they will help you heal
How to make a mourning plan
What reconciling your grief
looks and feels like
How the Grief Overload Mourner’s
Bill of Rights can help you
actively mourn
This webinar is based on Too Much Loss: Coping with Grief Overload
by Alan D Wolfelt, PH.D.
Visit www.centerforloss.com
to learn more.
Date
June 19, 2025
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
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Future Dates
September 25, 2025
December 11. 2025
Expected Loss
Coping with Anticipatory Grief
We don’t only experience grief after a loss—we often experience it before.
If someone we love is seriously ill, or
if we’re concerned about upcoming hardships of any kind, we naturally begin to grieve right now.
This process of anticipatory grief is normal, but it can also be confusing
and painful.
This compassionate webinar will help you understand and befriend your grief as well as find effective ways to express it as you live your daily life.
Life is change, and change is hard. This webinar will help see you through.
When you attend this webinar,
you will learn;
What Anticipatory Grief Is
What Causes Anticipatory Grief
How Anticipatory Grief is Different
from Regular Grief
Why Grief and Mourning Are
Not he same
How to Care for and Love
Someone Who is Dying
This webinar is based on Expected Loss: Coping with Anticipatory Grief
by Alan D. Wolfelt, PH.D.
Visit www.centerforloss.com
to learn more.
Date
July 17, 2025
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
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Future Dates
October 2, 2025
What to Say and What NOT to Say
When Someone is Grieving
Someone you care about has suffered a loss. As a supportive friend or family member, you instinctively want to offer comfort but don’t know what to say. Then in a moment of emotional awkwardness and with the
best of intentions you say:
“He’s in a better place.”
“There is a reason for everything.”
“Aren’t you over him yet? He's been
dead for a while now?”
“You can still have another child?”
“She was such a good person
God wanted her to be with him.”
“I know how you feel.”
“Be strong.”
You meant no harm however, what you just said was not helpful or supportive.
So, what do you say, and what do you
NOT say to someone grieving?
When you attend this webinar,
you’ll learn:
64 of the Worst Things You Can Say
and How to Avoid Them.
64 of the Best Things You Can Say
and the Best Ways to Say Them.
Why Grief is a Journey, NOT a Destination.
How to “Companion” the Griever on Their Journey Through the Wilderness of Grief.
Six Common Grief Emotions and How
They Impact a Griever’s Daily Life.
How to Deal with the Physical
Symptoms of Grief.
6 Grief Myths and How They Can
Prevent the Griever from
Moving Forward.
This webinar is based on two books.
What to Say When You Don't Know What to Say - Loving a Friend Through Grief
by Mark J. Lucero
and
Sympathy and Condolences: What to
Say and Write to Convey Your
Support After a Loss
by Alan Wolfelt, PH.D.
Date
July 24, 2025
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
Register FREE
Coming Soon
_________________________________
Future Dates
October 9, 2025
You’re Not Crazy – You’re Grieving
Six Steps for Surviving Loss
After a significant loss, it’s common to feel like we’re going crazy. The sudden absence of someone we love is not only devastating, it’s disorienting.
The first year or two of grief is often unbelievably painful and confusing. We’re in shock, often for weeks or months. Time seems out of whack.
We feel powerless, helpless, and ineffective. We can’t think straight;
we can’t get anything done. Our
moods swing wildly, and we
say and do crazy things.
We cry, and we cling to objects that belonged to the person who died. We have bizarre dreams. We think we hear, see, or experience communications from the person who died.
We wonder if we can (or should) go on. And through it all, our minds and hearts return over and over again to the impossible reality that can never again talk to or touch a person who lived
and breathed and gave our lives
so much meaning.
When you attend this webinar
you'll learn:
Six Steps for Surviving Loss
Know That Your Intense, Unique Grief Is Normal and Necessary
Do Whatever You Need to Do
to Feel Safe and Comfortable
Acknowledge
the Illusion of Control
Tell Your Story
Embrace Your Spirituality
Step Toward Truly Living
Even as You Grieve
This webinar is based on You’re’ Not Crazy – You Are Grieving: The Six
Steps for Surviving Loss by
Alan D Wolfelt, PH.D.
Visit
to learn more.
Dates
July 31, 2025
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
Register FREE
Coming Soon
_______________________________
Future Dates
October 16, 2025
The Guilt of Grief
How to Understand, Embrace,
and Restoratively Express Guilt
and Regret after a Loss
Guilt and regret are two of the most common feelings in grief. The finality of death allows no more time for apologizing or making amends. There’s no longer room for
second chances.
And so for many grievers it’s normal to ponder “if-onlys” and experience the pain of mistakes made and
opportunities squandered.
Yet shining the healing light of understanding and forgiveness
on the guilt and regret of grief is within your power.
If you befriend and find restorative ways to express these natural feelings, they will soften.
This webinar offers the compassionate insight and tools you need to evolve from guilt to grace, one healing
day at a time.
This webinar is based on The Guilt of Grief: How to Understand, Empress and Restoratively Express Guilt and Regret After Loss by Alan D Wolfelt, PH.D.
Visit www.centerforloss.com
to learn more.
Date
August 7, 2025
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
Register FREE
Coming Soon
____________________________
Future Date
October 22, 2025
The Anxiety of Grief
How to Understand, Soothe, and Express Your Fears After Loss
It’s normal to experience anxiety in grief. While it’s not pleasant to feel anxious, it’s natural because loss shakes our sense of security in the present and often raises worries about the future.
Anxiety is a form of fear. Of course, we feel afraid when someone important to us dies. How will we survive without them? What will our lives be like? What if something happens to others
we care about?
What’s more, the pain of grief compounds anxiety. When we’re hurting, we naturally feel anxious. We want the pain to stop. But the pain of grief typically takes many months and even years to begin to diminish.
When you attend this webinar,
you’ll learn:
How to Understand Your Anxiety
and Fears After a Significant Loss
Your Feelings Are Normal,
and They Serve a Purpose
Why Soothing Your
Fears is Essential
Why You Don't Need to Live in Continuous Anxiety, Because
It’s Bad for Your Health
Ways to Comfort and Distract
Yourself Whenever You Need
Expressing Your Fears Is
the Key to Taming Them
This webinar is based on The Anxiety of Grief – How to Understand, Soothe, and Express Your Fears After Loss by
Alan D Wolfelt, PH.D.
Visit
to learn more.
Date
August 14, 2025
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
Register FREE
Coming Soon
__________________________
Future Date
October 30, 2025
Find Meaning After Loss
Tools for Releasing the Pain
and Remembering with Love
Grief is extremely powerful. It’s easy to get stuck in your pain and remains bitter, angry, or depressed. Grief grabs you by the heart ad doesn’t seem to let go.
But if you can manage to find meaning in even the most senseless loss, you
can do more than get unstuck. When circumstances are at their worst,
you can find your best.
You can keep growing and finding ways to live a good and someday even joyful life, one enriched by the lessons and love of the person who died.
When you attend this webinar,
you’ll learn:
Why the 6 Stages of Grief Were
Never Meant to Be Linear
What Is Meaning Making in Grief
Types of Meaning Making
How Meaning-Making Can Help
You Remember the Person Who
Died with More Love Than Pain
Why Meaning-Making is the
Key to Recovery from Grief
The Keys to Finding Acceptance
and Moving into Meaning Making
Why Post-Traumatic Growth Is an Important Part of Meaning Making
This webinar is based on Finding Meaning, The Sixth Stage of Grief by David Kessler
Visit
to learn more.
Date
August 21, 2025
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
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Future Dates
November 6, 2025
Peer-to-Peer Support
Donation Based One-on-One Support
Sometimes, a little extra support is just what you need when preparing your end-of-life documents or when navigating your way through the wilderness of grief after a loss.
Whether you’re looking for a one-time check-in or ongoing support, call or text 512-787-3402 to schedule a conversation.
Your first conversation is FREE! If you'd like to move forward with peer-to-peer support, each call is offered on a donation basis. You pay what you can; you decide what amount to donate after each conversation.
Sponsor
Meet Your Facilitator
Garrick Colwell
Garrick Colwell has been a Hospice Volunteer since 1987, providing respite care and as a hospice chaplain. He has also served as a volunteer on-call hospital chaplain.
Garrick is a Respecting Choices®, Person-Centered Care, First Steps®, Advance Care Planning Certified Instructor and Facilitator.
As a Certified Grief Recovery Specialist, Garrick co-created with Hospice Austin Conversations On Grief, a monthly online grief education and support program. He is a Certified Grief Educator by David Kessler at grief.com. Garrick holds a Death and Grief Studies Certification from the Center for Loss and Life Transition under the direction of Alan D Wolfelt, Ph.D.
Garrick is a widower. During his late wife, Kinsloe’s five-year illness, Garrick was her patient advocate, full-time caregiver, and end of life companion. Recently he lost his dad.
Grief and Mourning Support Resources
Alan Wolfelt, Ph. D, CT
Alan Wolfelt, Ph. D, CT
Alan Wolfelt, Ph. D, CT
Author, educator, and grief counselor Dr. Alan Wolfelt is known across North America for his inspirational teaching gifts.
https://www.centerforloss.com/
Recent Articles and Videos
Grieving a Coronavirus Death: Help for Special Circumstances
Exploring the Natural Complications of the “WHYs” of Funerals During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Nurturing Hope in Difficult Times
Article Video
The Pandemic of Grief
How to Talk to Children About the Coronavirus Pandemic
Funeral in the Time of Coronavirus: Thoughts for Families
David Kessler
Alan Wolfelt, Ph. D, CT
Alan Wolfelt, Ph. D, CT
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David Kessler is one of the world’s foremost experts on healing and loss. His experience with people on the edge of life and death has taught him the secrets to living a happy and fulfilled life – even after life’s tragedies.
Tender Hearts
FREE Grief Support Group
Grief: Releasing Pain, Remembering Love & Finding Meaning
Recent Articles
Harvard Business Review: That Discomfort You’re Feeling Is Grief
Podcast
What's Your Grief
Alan Wolfelt, Ph. D, CT
What's Your Grief
Our mission is to promote grief education, exploration, and expression in both practical and creative ways.
Recent Articles
10 Ideas for Funerals and Memorials When You Can’t Be Together
When You Can’t Be With A Dying Family Member
Please Stop Minimizing the Death of Older Adult
Grieving the Death of an Elderly Loved One
Grief and Mourning Support for Kids and Teens
The Golden Sweater: Free PDF download of the book, The Golden Sweater. The Golden Sweater is a book published by the National Alliance for Grieving Children, and it tells the story of a little boy named Kai, who learns how to navigate a loss in his family.
Teenage Grief Sucks A website written by grieving teens. Teens can read stories written from the perspective of their grieving peers. They can share their own stories as well.
Sesame Street in Communities: Helping Kids Grieve: It’s Sesame Street excellence – need I say more?
Slapd: Online community and website supporting teens who’ve lost a parent.
Grief in Pixar's Coco - WYG podcast episode
Parenting While Grieving - WYG podcast episode
The Widowed Parent Podcast - a whole podcast dedicated to parenting after the loss of a spouse or partner.
Dougy Center - The Right Place When Nothing Feels Right. When someone dies, it can feel like you’re alone in your grief. At Dougy Center, you will find support, resources, and connection before and after a death.
Sponsors & Friends
What a privilege to work with these organizations!
