Grief Groups

Grief is one of the hardest aspects of life, and it is something everyone faces in their lifetime. Sometimes it comes in the form of an expected loss due to a long-term illness or the natural aging process. Other times it crashes in without warning due to an accident or sudden death from an illness. At the end of the day, the how is far less important, because the impact of loss results in pain, no matter what road we travel down to end up at grief. It can instantly isolate us, overwhelm us, and completely turn our world upside down.

Learning to understand the process of grief while sorting through the impacts of each personal experience allows us to learn to work through things in a healing way, rather than suffer alone and develop poor coping skills and avoidance. Grief is individual, but we are not meant to do it alone. Sometimes, however, we may feel it easier to seek aid from others outside of our usual support system, as an opportunity to find others who are not attached to our personal journey, but understand the universal experience grief breeds.

At WhistleStop Acres, our goal is to create safe spaces to learn, understand, and walk through the emotions and trauma related to grief. We aim to build support without expectation or pressure and to be a comfort, fostering  each person to heal in their own time, allowing grief to pass through with support from people who are able to relate with a genuine presence without pressure. 

Group Types

  • When a family unit is experiencing a significant loss, learning to allow space for each person to experience it in their own way, while still sharing the grief as a family unit for support will be the focus of this group. It will be a group built for up to 3 families at a time. Groups will meet once a week for 6 weeks for the intro course. At the end of that course, families may choose to continue into the Advanced Grief Course or end their time. They may also choose to move into groups designed for adults only or teens only, should some members of the family need more time than others. Children will not move into a separate group, but may discuss options for ongoing support on a case by case basis. .

  • This group is built for adults only, and is built for attending as an individual or attending with a spouse, family member, or friend. This is not meant for family dynamics, but instead a place for adults to process grief without the concern or responsibility of others’ emotional needs during this time, such as a child or younger family member. It is designed to identify the grief stages, how to manage emotional variations during the processing, and finding support in others that are in different, yet similar grief journeys.

  • This group is built for college age/ young adults experiencing grief that need a safe space to process their emotions without fear while navigating the pressures of adulting, in order to begin to understand what is happening in the grief process. Teens will learn to identify grief stages, while reconciling their own individual journey in this stage of life. The group will be built to create a natural support system of others who are also grieving in order to break down the barriers of feeling isolated and alone, as well as how to express grief in healthy ways.

  • This group is built for teens experiencing grief that need a safe space to process their emotions without fear or worry of others in their lives, such as younger siblings or parents, in order to begin to understand what is happening in the grief process. Teens will learn to identify grief stages, while reconciling their own individual journey in this stage of life. The group will be built to create a natural support system of others who are also grieving in order to break down the barriers of feeling isolated and alone, as well as how to express grief in healthy ways.

  • Specific for Grades 7-8, this group creates a safe space to navigate grief without fear or worry of others in their lives, such as siblings or parents, in order to begin to understand what is happening in the grief process. They will learn to identify grief stages, while reconciling their own individual journey in this stage of life. The group will be built to create a natural support system of others who are also grieving in order to break down the barriers of feeling isolated and alone, as well as how to express grief in healthy ways.

  • Specific for Grades 5-6, this group creates a safe space to navigate grief without fear or worry of others in their lives, such as siblings or parents, in order to begin to understand what is happening in the grief process. They will learn to identify grief stages, while reconciling their own individual journey in this stage of life. The group will be built to create a natural support system of others who are also grieving in order to break down the barriers of feeling isolated and alone, as well as how to express grief in healthy ways.

  • These groups will be centered on anyone that has gone through an introductory grief course that needs continued support and processing in order to manage the ongoing grief journey without becoming “stuck”.