Workshop Overview:

In this workshop, we’ll be creating a healing space to reflect on our losses and explore powerful tools and concepts for managing grief in a personally meaningful process toward long term healing. We’ll have opportunities to discuss our grief, journal, explore the purpose of grief in the human condition and come away feeling more grounded, accepting and peaceful for having honoured this deeply valuable and important human experience.

Duration: 90 minutes
Audience: Adults experiencing grief or supporting someone grieving due to loss of a loved one, loss of job, loss of meaning or purpose, loss of a pet, etc.
Workshop Goal: Provide understanding of grief, normalize experiences, and introduce practical healing tools.

1. Welcome & Creating a Safe Space

Objectives

• Establish emotional safety
• Introduce the purpose of the workshop
• Set expectations

Facilitator Actions

• Welcome participants
• Introduce yourself and your background
• Acknowledge the courage it takes to attend

Reflection:

“Grief is a deeply personal experience. Today is not about fixing grief, but about understanding it, honoring it, and learning ways to care for ourselves as we move through it.”

Group Agreements

• Confidentiality
• Share only what you feel comfortable sharing
• Listening without judgment
• Self-care (participants can step out anytime)

Quick Grounding Exercise

1-minute breathing practice

• Slow inhale
• Slow exhale
• Notice your body and emotions

2. Understanding Grief

Key Teaching Points

• Is not linear
• Looks different for everyone
• Can involve emotional, physical, cognitive, and spiritual responses

Topics to Cover

• Common grief reactions
• Misconceptions about grief
• The myth of “getting over it”

Introduce Grief Models (briefly)

• Five stages of grief
• Continuing bonds
• Waves of grief

Emphasize: Grief is something we learn to carry, not something we erase.

3. Personal Reflection Activity: “My Grief Experience”

Individual Reflection

• What loss are you carrying today?
• What has been the most difficult part?
• What do you wish others understood about your grief?

Participants may:

• Journal
• Draw
• Reflect quietly

Optional Pair or Group Sharing

Reminder: “No one is required to share.”

4. How Grief Shows Up in the Body & Mind

Discuss:

Emotional

• sadness
• anger
• guilt
• numbness

Physical

• fatigue
• sleep changes
• appetite changes
• body aches

Cognitive

• memory issues
• difficulty concentrating
• intrusive memories

5. Healing Tools & Coping Strategies

Emotional Processing

• Journaling
• Talking with trusted people
• Grief counseling

Body-Based Healing

• Breathwork
• Gentle movement
• Time in nature

Meaning-Making Practices

• Rituals
• Memory keeping
• Legacy projects

Self-Compassion Practice

Our affirmation: “I am allowed to grieve in my own way and in my own time.”

6. Guided Healing Exercise

“Letter to Your Loved One” Exercise

Participants will write about:

• What they miss
• What they wish they could say
• A memory they cherish
• Something they want to carry forward

Alternative for non-death grief:

• Letter to the past
• Letter to oneself

7. Integration & Group Reflection

Reflections:

• What stood out for you today?
• What is one thing you will take with you from this workshop?

8. Closing & Resources (5 minutes)

Closing Message

“Grief is a reflection of love. The depth of grief often mirrors the depth of connection.”

Closing Activity

Breathing exercise.

Resources

• grief counseling
• support groups
• crisis support if needed