The Understanding Your Grief Support Group Guide

Starting and Leading a Bereavement Support Group

Alan D Wolfelt, Alan Wolfelt

• Publisher: Companion Press
• eBook ISBN:
  9781617221187
• Year: 2004

This guide to facilitating support groups offers bereavement caregivers practical strategies for creating and maintaining a productive environment for mourners. Logistical considerations such as setting up and publicizing a new group are discussed, as is the importance of prescreening new members. Tips for creating a set of ground rules are provided, and the pros and cons of creating structured and unstructured meetings are considered. Responding constructively to problems in the group is also discussed, with helpful, time-proven models provided for evaluating group and individual progress.

Table of contents

• Also by Alan Wolfelt
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Introduction - In Gratitude to the Grief Support Group Facilitator
• Growing Through Grief - The Role of Support Groups
• Getting Started - The Nuts and Bolts
• How to Lead - Tasks, Qualities, and Skills of an Effective Leader
• From Start to Finish - The Support Group’s Five Developmental Phases
• Planning Your Meetings - The Understanding Your Grief Model
• When Things Are Not Going Well - Responding to Problem Members
• The Six Needs of Mourning - Evaluating your group’s progress
• Putting Yourself First - Caring for the Caregiver
• A Self-Care Manifesto for Bereavement Caregivers
• A Final Word
• Select Reading List
• ALSO BY ALAN WOLFELT