News & Press
Australia Funeral Service makes use of Dr. Wolfelt’s teaching to advocate for the Importance of Meaningful Funerals.
The Australia Funeral Service is making use of Dr. Wolfelt’s teaching to advocate for the Importance of Meaningful Funerals by running a series of article in a local newspaper. The article will run every six weeks and help support the educational tours and discussions...Dr. Wolfelt honors Jan C. Scruggs
This year’s Lasting Impact Award, presented by The International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association Education Foundation, was presented to Jan C. Scruggs, the driving force behind the construction of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall. Dr. Wolfelt...Important Training Schedule Announcement – Updated!
Great News! After some reflection and discernment, Dr. Wolfelt has decided to continue to offer his trainings into future years. As he noted: “I was humbled by the number of people who sent notes or called in to encourage me to continue my trainings anchored in the...In Praise of Slow Funerals
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. Have you ever noticed that we are speed-obsessed these days, even though faster is often not better? A century ago, the Industrial Revolution brought about mass production and with it an emphasis on speed, efficiency, and productivity....Center for Loss 2017 Training Schedule Announced!
The Center for Loss and Life Transition provides quality bereavement care training for caregivers. Dr. Wolfelt’s seminars have evolved out of a demand for concise yet comprehensive information in the growing area of death education and counseling. If you want to learn...New Book Helps Funeral Directors Create Exceptional Funerals
Companion Press announces the publication of a new book entitled A Tale of Two Funerals: The Throw Rug and the Tapestry, by renowned grief educator Dr. Alan Wolfelt. Written specifically for funeral directors, funeral service leaders, and funeral home staff members,...Dr. Wolfelt to Impact Funeral Service Internationally in 2017!
Author, educator, and well-known consultant to funeral service Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D., will share his critical message of the importance of meaningful funerals in several locations internationally in 2017. Dr. Wolfelt will be the keynote speaker for the Funeral...Helping Yourself Heal When Someone You Care About Dies of a Drug Overdose
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. A friend or family member has died of a drug overdose. Death and grief are always hard, but when someone dies from drug use, understanding your feelings and knowing what to think and say about the death can be especially difficult....Grieving the Death of a Celebrity
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. When someone we have admired from afar dies, it’s normal and natural to experience grief. This article will help you understand your thoughts and feelings over the death of a celebrity and find healing ways to mourn. What is...New Training Catalog Available!
The new 2017-2018 Training Catalog is here! You can check out the digital files below, or contact us to request hard copies at (970) 226-6050 or training@centerforloss.com Click here to download a PDF of the...Dr. Wolfelt interviewed by Brit + Co
To view the full article, please click here.Why Is the Funeral Ritual Important?
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. “When words are inadequate, have a ritual.” — Author Unknown Rituals are symbolic activities that help us, together with our families and friends, express our deepest thoughts and feelings about life’s most important events. Baptism...Helping Your Family Heal After Stillbirth
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. Stillbirth is a profound loss Few events in life bring about such warm and wonderful feelings of anticipation as the announcement of a pregnancy. As soon as you and your family learned you were expecting, you naturally began to have...Reaching Out for Help When You Are Grieving
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. “Action is the antidote to despair.” – Joan Baez When someone you love dies, you must mourn if you are to renew your capacity for love. In other words, mourning brings healing. But healing also requires the support and...Living in the Shadow of the Ghosts of Grief: An Introduction
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. “Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.” — Kahlil Gibran A central truth is that all of us as human beings are connected in our experiences of loss and grief. If you have picked up this newsletter...Helping Yourself Heal During the Holiday Season
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. Holidays are often difficult for anyone who has experienced the death of someone loved. Rather than being times of family togetherness, sharing and thanksgiving, holidays can bring feelings of sadness, loss and emptiness. Love...Helping Yourself Heal When a Pet Dies
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. A pet is a family member, too A pet is often a member of the family. In fact, surveys show some interesting facts about pet owners: 84 percent consider their animals family members; 99 percent talk to their pets, and 54 percent...Helping Your Family Personalize a Funeral
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. If you are in the midst of planning a funeral, you may be feeling overwhelmed right now. Many details must be attended to. Many people must be contacted. Many decisions must be made. Your natural and necessary feelings of grief make...Helping Teenagers Cope with Grief
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. Each year thousands of teenagers experience the death of someone they love. When a parent, sibling, friend or relative dies, teens feel the overwhelming loss of someone who helped shape their fragile self-identities. And these feelings...Helping Your Family Heal After Miscarriage
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. Miscarriage is a significant loss It is normal and natural to hurt deeply after miscarriage. While others may imply or outright tell you that miscarriage happens too early on for you to be attached to the baby, or that miscarriage is...Helping a Grieving Friend in the Workplace
By Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. “Grief is a long, painful journey. As the friend of a grieving coworker, you can choose to help make the journey more tolerable. Tell your coworker how sorry you are and listen if she wants to talk. Be available to her in the...Helping Yourself Heal When an Adult Sibling Dies
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. “To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other’s hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs...Helping Yourself Heal When a Parent Dies
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. Your mother or father has died. Whether you had a good, bad or indifferent relationship with the parent who died, your feelings for him or her were probably quite strong. At bottom, most of us love our parents deeply. And they love...Helping Children Understand Cremation
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. The adult as role model and helper A child you care about is grieving the loss of someone loved. If you, too, loved the person who died, you are now faced with the difficult but critical task of helping both yourself and the child...Helping Children with Funerals
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. The adult as role model and helper A child you care about is grieving. If you, too, loved the person who died, you are now faced with the difficult but critical task of helping both yourself and the child heal. Throughout the coming months...Helping Yourself Heal When Your Child Dies
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. “The experience of grief is powerful. So, too, is your ability to help yourself heal. In doing the work of grieving, you are moving toward a renewed sense of meaning and purpose in your life.” ~ ~ ~ Allow yourself to mourn Your...Helping Children Cope With Grief
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. Adults grieve. So do children. As an adult or child, experiencing grief means to “feel,” not just to “understand.” Anyone old enough to love is old enough to grieve. Even before children are able to talk, they grieve when someone loved...Helping Yourself Heal When Your Spouse Dies
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. “The experience of grief is powerful. So, too, is your ability to help yourself heal. In doing the work of grieving, you are moving toward a renewed sense of meaning and purpose in your life.” ~ ~ ~ Acknowledge your loss...The Spiritual Path to Healing: An Introduction
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. After the death of someone loved, you are “torn apart” and have some very unique needs. Among these needs is to nurture yourself in five important areas: physically, emotionally, cognitively, socially, and spiritually. In the coming...On the Journey to Healing: Seek Reconciliation, Not Resolution
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. “Mourning never really ends. Only as time goes on, it erupts less frequently.” How do you ever find your way out of the wilderness of your grief? A number of psychological models describing grief refer to “resolution,” “recovery,”...The Importance of Hope
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. “Today… I open my heart’s hand to allow… the touch of hope.” — Julia Cameron Someone you love has died. In your heart you have come to know your deepest pain. Your grief has brought challenges that seem beyond your own capacity to...Helping Dispel 5 Common Misconceptions About Grief
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. Our society continues to perpetuate a number of misconceptions about grief and mourning. They may seem harmless, but I have found that they can quickly become hurdles to healing. This article describes five of the most common...You’re Not Going Crazy — You’re Grieving!
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. In his beautiful book A Grief Observed, C.S. Lewis described his experience after the death of his wife. He wrote, “An odd by-product of my loss is that I’m aware of being an embarrassment to everyone I meet… Perhaps the bereaved ought...Nurturing Yourself When You’re Grieving
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. “There is nothing in nature that can’t be taken as a sign of both mortality and invigoration.” — Gretel Ehrlich The word “bereaved,” which to our modern-day ears can sound like an old-fashioned term that only a funeral director might...The Journey Through Grief: The Six Needs of Mourning
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. The death of someone loved changes our lives forever. And the movement from the “before” to the “after” is almost always a long, painful journey. From my own experiences with loss as well as those of the thousands of grieving people...Open to the Presence of Your Loss
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. “In every heart there is an inner room, where we can hold our greatest treasures and our deepest pain.” – Marianne Williamson When someone you love dies, you come to know your deepest pain. From my own experiences with loss as...Mustering the Courage to Mourn
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. “Whatever you do, you need courage.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson Loss brings uninvited pain into our lives. In opening to the presence of the pain of your loss, in acknowledging the inevitability of the pain, in being willing to...Helping Yourself Heal When Someone Dies
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. Someone you love has died You are now faced with the difficult, but important, need to mourn. Mourning is the open expression of your thoughts and feelings regarding the death and the person who has died. It is an essential part of...The Mourner’s Bill of Rights
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. Though you should reach out to others as you do the work of mourning, you should not feel obligated to accept the unhelpful responses you may receive from some people. You are the one who is grieving, and as such, you have certain...
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