Kid strategy of the week:

• Letter-writing: One way to provide release of emotions around grief is a letter-writing activity. Assist your client in writing a little to the person/situation they are grieving. This can work for grief like death or loss of a person, as well as for more abstract situations that the child is mourning the loss of. For example, writing a letter to:
  • A parent who died
  • A grandparent who they won’t get to see this holiday season
  • A favorite activity (football practice, visiting Santa, going on road trips) that they are missing
  • A part of themselves (their third-grade self, their self before COVID, their artistic side)
  • For younger children, they can dictate a letter to you while you write, or draw a picture and then share with you what they mean to say with it. For older children, they may be able to explore more complex and abstract ideas of ambiguous grief along with more traditional forms of grief. Assist the child in reading the letter aloud if they would like, choosing a safe place to save the letter, reading it to a trusted caregiver, or even ripping it up and throwing it away after writing it.
• Sample Progress Note: The focus of the session was (tailor based on treatment plan). The therapist engaged the client in a bibliotherapy activity (letter writing) to help them express themes of grief and loss. The Ct responded to the art activity by (fill in the blank).

Couples strategy of the week:

• Supporting Your Partner Through Grief: Being flexible and understanding while your partner moves through grief is one of the most supportive things you can do as a partner. Some examples of what this might look like include:
  • Checking in on them to see how they’re feeling and if there’s anything you can do to make things easier for them
  • Being understanding of the big emotions that come along with grief
  • Giving your partner space to process, if needed
  • Understanding that grief resurfaces from time to time
• To read more, visit here
• Sample Progress Note: The focus of this session was… The therapist helped the couple process feelings of grief and explore ways to support each other throughout the grieving process. The couple was (able to/struggled to/etc) identify and express their emotions in session, and they were (receptive/engaged/hesitant) while exploring ways to support each other throughout the grieving process.

Adult strategy of the week:

• The Four Tasks of Mourning: While everyone’s journey through grief is unique, there are “four tasks of mourning” that can be helpful while working through grief:
  • To accept the reality of the loss
  • To work through the pain of grief
  • To adjust to life without the deceased
  • To maintain a connection to the deceased while moving on with life
  • Attending to these four tasks and reflecting on how they fit into your own grief journey can help you find a new relationship with grief. What have each of these tasks looked like in your life? What are you still working on? What has it felt like to go through tasks that you’ve started already?
• Sample Progress Note: The focus of this session was… The therapist helped the client process their emotions related to the grieving process and provided psychoeducation about the Four Tasks of Mourning to help the client explore their relationship with grief. The client (was able/unable/somewhat able) to identify and express their emotions in session, and they were (receptive/skeptical/etc) while incorporating psychoeducation into their narrative.

Mindfulness/Meditation strategy of the week:

• Encountering Grief: A 10-minute Guided Meditation: https://onbeing.org/blog/encountering-grief-a-10-minute-guided-meditation-with-joan-halifax/
• Sample Progress Note: The focus of this session was… The therapist led a mindfulness activity (Encountering Grief). Ct. (engaged/did not engage in the activity), and they reported that the mindfulness activity was (helpful/difficult/not helpful).

I would like to invite you to put down whatever might be in your hand. And to find a position that’s comfortable and also that supports you. And listen to my words. And if they are resonant for you, if they are helpful really let them enter into your experience. And also bring your own experience in your own language to what is being pointed to as we touch into this meditation on grief.
Beginning with remembering really why you’re here.
Bring your attention to the breath for just a moment.
And let the breath sweep your mind and notice whether it’s a deep breath or shallow.
Recall for a moment now a loss or losses that have really touched you, or the anticipation of loss.
I’ll offer some simple phrases that we can touch into around the truth of grief.
May I be open to the pain of grief.
Notice whatever comes up, not rejecting it, not clinging to it.
May I be open to the sorrow, to the pain of grief.
May I find the inner resources to really be present for my sorrow.
May I find the inner resources to really be present for my sorrow.
And notice any judgement or resistance that arises. It’ll pass.
May I accept my sadness knowing that I am not my sadness.
May I accept my sadness knowing that I am not my sadness.
And if you’ve cared for someone and felt like it wasn’t always so easy, reflect on this phrase:
May I forgive myself for not meeting my loved one’s needs.
May I forgive myself for not always being able to meet my loved one’s needs.
And may I forgive myself for mistakes made and things left undone.
So true of all of our life.
May I forgive myself for mistakes made and things left undone.
May to be open with others and with myself about my experience of loss.
May I be open to receive the kindness of others as they support me in this journey of grief.
And completing this brief exploration of grief, may I and all beings learn from and transform sorrow.
May I and all beings learn from and transform sorrow.
Again, noticing whatever is arising for you, whatever thoughts are present, not clinging to them.
Whatever you’re feeling in your heart, how the body feels as you consider the possibility that grief can be a profoundly humanizing experience and bring greater depth into our lives.