News & Press
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 survive....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...Finding the Right Words: Guidelines on How to Talk to Grieving Children About Death
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. Through the years I have learned a great deal from many grieving children and their families. They have taught me which words work best when talking to children about death. Here are some general concepts I suggest companions use when...Exploring Your Feelings of Loss
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. “There is no right response to death. You make it up as you go along.” – Joan Connor On your journey through the wilderness of your grief, a critical trail marker to be on the watch for is Touchstone Four, which guides you in...Helping a Suicide Survivor Heal
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. Historian Arnold Toynbee once wrote, “There are always two parties to a death: the person who dies and the survivors who are bereaved.” Unfortunately, many survivors of suicide suffer alone and in silence. The silence that surrounds them...Touchstone Two (Part Two) – Dispel the Misconceptions About Grief
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. In the last issue we explored some of the most common misconceptions about grief—and how those misconceptions can pull you off the path to healing. Following are five more misconceptions to be on the watch for. Misconception 6: When someone...Touchstone Two (Part One) – Dispel the Misconceptions About Grief
by Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D. “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.” Robert Frost As you journey through the wilderness of your grief, if you mourn openly and authentically, you will come to find a...Embracing the Sadness of Grief
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 Sadness is a hallmark symptom of grief, which in turn is the consequence of losing something we care about....
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