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
Find Meaning After Loss
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 www.grief.com to learn more.
Date
November 7
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
Healing Your Holiday Grief
Someone you love has died. How do you face the holidays without them? How do you cope with the pain of your loss when everyone around you is so joyful? How will you deal with the empty chair at the holiday table?
Holidays are some of the most challenging times to navigate after a loss.
When you attend this webinar
you’ll learn;
What You Need to Do to Eliminate Unnecessary Stress
How to Talk About the Person Who Died
Decide What to Do About Traditions
Explore How to Have a “This Will Do” Christmas
How to Identify “Triggers” to Help Minimize Your Holiday Grief Surprises
How to Take Tender Loving Care
of Yourself
This webinar is based on Healing Your
Holiday Grief by Alan D Wolfelt, PH.D.
Visit www.centerforloss.com
to learn more.
Date
November 13
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
__________________________
Future Date
December 11
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 www.centerforloss.com
to learn more.
Dates
November 14
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
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 www.centerforloss.com
to learn more.
Date
November 21
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
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
TBA
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
Register FREE
Coming 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
TBA
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
Register FREE
Coming 2025
The Anger of Grief
How to Understand, Embrace, and Restoratively Express Explosive Emotions after a Loss
Anger in grief is natural. It’s normal to feel anger and other explosive emotions such as hate, blame, terror, resentment, rage, and jealousy after the death of someone you love or another
significant life loss.
Yet it’s challenging to experience these feelings day after day. And it can be hard knowing what to do about them. Allowing them to seethe and build up inside you is not the answer. Neither
is lashing out at people who
care about you.
When you attend this webinar,
you’ll learn:
Understand and be with your
anger as a natural part of mourning
Express your anger and other
explosive emotions in
restorative ways
Soothe your anger to help
your healing journey in grief
Use time-tested tips, tools, and proven techniques for living the remainder of your days with less suffering
and more joy.
This webinar is based on Anger of Grief: How to Understand and Restorative Express Explosive Emotions After Loss by Alan D Wolfelt, PH.D.
Visit www.centerforloss.com
to learn more.
Date
TBA
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
Register FREE
Coming 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
TBA
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
Register FREE
Coming 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
TBA
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
Register FREE
Coming 2025
The Vulnerability of Grief
Finding the Courage
to Authentically Mourn
Grief hurts. While it’s natural to want
to avoid pain, healing after a loss requires engaging with and
expressing the pain.
The only way to fully engage with
our grief is to open ourselves to it.
All our thoughts and feelings need acknowledgment. They need our
time and attention. They also
need expression.
Sharing our grief
outside of ourselves is called
mourning, and ongoing mourning
is what truly catalyzes our
healing over time.
Yet we are never more vulnerable
than when we are sharing our
deepest emotions. Vulnerability
is scary. We’re often afraid of
the pain we’ll feel when we’re
honest with ourselves. We also
tend to be afraid of what
others might think.
But it turns out that vulnerability
in grief is our ally. The more open
and authentic we are, the more
fully we can integrate our loss
and go on to live and love well.
When you attend this webinar,
you’ll learn:
Understand why and how
to be vulnerable in grief
Find the courage to mourn authentically, at your own pace,
in your own time, and
in your own way
Embrace the paradoxical power
of vulnerability in living a rich,
full life from here forward.
This webinar is based on The Vulnerability of Grief – Finding the Courage to Authentically Mourn,
by Alan D Wolfelt, PH.D.
Visit www.centerforloss.com
to learn more.
Date
TBA
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
Register FREE
Coming 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
TBA
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
Register FREE
Coming 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
Sympathy and Condolences: What to
Say and Write to Convey Your
Support After a Loss
by Alan Wolfelt, PH.D.
Date
TBA
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
Register FREE
Coming 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
Sympathy and Condolences: What to
Say and Write to Convey Your
Support After a Loss
by Alan Wolfelt, PH.D.
Date
TBA
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
Register FREE
Coming 2025
Complicated Grief
How to Understand, Express, and Reconcile Your Especially Difficult Grief
Grief is always difficult, but if yours feels especially painful, stuck, or complex, you maybe experiencing complicated grief.
Complicated grief is not an illness
or disorder. It's normal grief that's been made more challenging by circumstances that might overwhelm you.
When you attend this webinar,
you'll learn:
How Complicated Grief is Different
and What You Can Do to Soften
and Eventually, Reconcile It
How to Inventory the Reasons
Your Grief is Complicated
The Symptoms of
Complicated Grief
·
How to Mourn Your
Complicated Grief
How to Reconcile Your
Complicated Grief
How to Find Hope for Healing and
a Path Through and Beyond the Wilderness of Complicated Grief
This webinar is based on Complicated Grief - How to Understand, Express, and Reconcile
Your Especially Difficult Grief
by Alan D Wolfelt, PH.D.
Visit www.centerforloss.com
to learn more.
Date
December 5
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
Register FREE
Coming Soon
Share the big news
Why Men Grieve Differently and
How to Support Them
Men grieve differently than women. Their grief languages are not the same. Yet grief does not have to divide. We will explore the differences and learn practical, loving ways to support
men in grief.
There is no right or wrong way to grieve.
Our grief as a man or a woman is as unique
and individual as we are, however,
there are differences.
Men tend to think their way through grief, women seem to feel their way. Women often perceive men as being void of emotions, reluctant to share their feelings. Maybe it’s because men are taught to honor the pain of loss, then hide any feelings associated with it. And when men and women try to talk with one another about their grief they quickly find they are speaking two different
grief languages.
In this webinar, we will explore the root cause of these differences. We will discuss how to replace expectation and judgement with understanding and compassion. You will learn practical helping skills you can use to give the men in your life heart
centered support.
The webinar is based in part on When Men Grieve: Why Men Grieve Differently
and How You Can Help
by Elizabeth Levang, Ph.D.
Visit www.levangandassociates.com
to learn more.
Date
December 17
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
Register FREE
Coming Soon
Share the big news
Share the big news
Share the big news
Cherishing
The Art of Fully Living While Still Loving and Honoring Those Who've Died
You feel love in the present as much
as you did in the past. But how do you continue to love and honor the special people in your life who have died as
you fully live your own remaining precious days here on earth?
It's instinctual to want to continue to hold dear someone you love who has died. Cherishing - to protect and care
for lovingly - is a way to do just that. After all, they're a love of your life.
You will no doubt love them deeply
for as long as you live.
During this webinar, you will be
invited to explore the mindset, review suggestions and practices that will
help you integrate cherishing into
your daily routines.
When you attend this webinar
you’ll learn;
The Art of Cherishing and How to Practice It in Your Daily Life
How to Use the Six Reconciliation Needs of Mourning to Help
Integrate Loss Into Your Life
How the Six Opportunities of Cherishing Can Help You Live Fully While Still Loving and Honoring Those Who’ve Died
This webinar is based on Cherishing - The Art of Fully Living While Still Loving and Honoring Those Who've Died
by Alan D Wolfelt, PH.D.
Visit www.centerforloss.com
to learn more.
Date
September 5
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
Register FREE
Coming 2025
Display their FAQs
Share the big news
Display their FAQs
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
September 26
Time
10:30 am to 12:00 pm CT
Location
Zoom
Register FREE
Coming 2025
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/
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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
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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
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