For almost two years during the Covid pandemic, I worked as a Grief Support Counselor with Hospice of Santa Cruz County. As you can well imagine, it was an especially difficult, complicated time for those who lost loved ones. While in lockdown, I spent dozens of hours with people on the phone and on Zoom, listening to their stories and offering morsels of support. 

One of the resources that I found myself sharing over and over was the handbook that Hospice of Santa Cruz County had put together. Part educational, part inspirational, this handbook doesn’t overload you with too much text or psychological jargon.

In this handbook you will find: 

-Common Grief Reactions

-The Many Faces of Grief

-The 5 Tasks of Grieving

-What You Need While Grieving

-Grief Journal Prompts

-Daily Practices to Reduce Grief-Related Stress

What I particularly value about the work that HSCC does, is acknowledging the complicated, tumultuous and unexpected aspects of grief. Because human relationships are often fraught with a mixture of love, resentment, regret, promises, and hope– so is our grief. And swimming through the waves of grief are often a swirling mixture of emotions, not a simple, linear experience as the popular Stages of Grief might have you think. 

If you have found this page as a griever, I hope this handbook provides some structure and support for you to journey through grief.  I suggest printing it out so you can refer to it often. 

If someone close to you is grieving, this is a great handbook to help you understand the world in which they might be living. 

If you are interested in professional grief support, don’t hesitate to reach out. 

Leanna Immel, LMFT specializes in providing compassionate, effective grief counseling to adults and teens. Grief can be a complicated vortex of emotions and experiences. In one moment you may be perfectly fine, and the next you are swept into an emotional intensity you’ve never experienced. It’s unfair, and it’s exhausting. In an increasingly isolated world, getting therapy after loss can help you feel less alone and more able to feel like yourself again. Grief isn’t meant to be experienced alone. If you are feeling isolated, stuck, or could use a helping hand, its time to reach out.