Grief is the emotional, cognitive, functional, and behavioral reactions a bereaved person might experience as a result of loss. Although grief is a normal process, in some it becomes prolonged or complicated, requiring intervention. Moreover, aspects of COVID-19 have made the grieving process more difficult, such as ambiguous loss that has no resolution or closure (e.g., social isolation during shelter-in-place), the need to isolate hospitalized patients, rendering families unable to visit or say goodbye, and disruptions in mourning rituals (e.g., not gathering for funerals). Mental health and school mental health personnel are often not fully trained on helping patients manage grief, loss, and bereavement, especially in the types of situations seen during this pandemic.
Here, we highlight MHTTC training and technical assistance products and resources related to grief, loss, and bereavement, as well as a compilation of resources from other reputable organizations.
To view all resources related to grief, loss, and bereavement, please visit our products and resources catalog and select "grief" from the keyword dropdown menu. For a list of upcoming events, visit our training and events calendar and type in “grief” in the Keyword Search.
In honor of Children's Grief Awareness Month, the MHTTC Network hosted a two-day, no-cost, training experience in November 2023 for the mental health and school mental health workforce. We worked with leading grief experts across the country to strengthen grief sensitivity skills, techniques, and interventions.
Special focus on gender-based violence, institutional violence, community violence and grief
Access the slide deck from Day 1 here.
View the Day 1 video recording here.
Special focus on school violence and grief
Access the slide deck from Day 2 here.
View the Day 2 video recording here.
Mental health professionals and school mental health personnel often do not receive intensive training on helping patients manage grief, loss, and bereavement, particularly grief related to situations seen during this pandemic. This series of fact sheets, developed by the MHTTC Network, is designed to help mental health professionals and school mental health personnel support patients, students, and families who may be experiencing grief at any time, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This two-day institute is aimed for those supporting individuals (general mental health and school mental health populations) experiencing grief and loss through COVID 19 and beyond.
This two-day institute is geared towards providing frontline workers with tools and strategies that can be used when addressing the needs of individuals experiencing grief and loss during COVID-19 and beyond.
Ambiguous Loss: Grieving in the Time of COVID-19, Followed by Live Q&A Session | Northwest MHTTC
This webinar gives you an overview of what grief looks like at any time but especially during a time of ambiguous loss. We talk about how to care for yourself and others in a time of uncertainty.
Communicating Death and Dying to Latino Families during a Pandemic | National Hispanic and Latino MHTTC
Talking about death and dying is always difficult, but communicating to families during pandemics like COVID-19 poses special challenges. This presentation discusses strategies for respectfully communicating with Latino families about COVID related end of life issues.
Complicated Grief: Cultural Considerations When Working with Loss in Hispanic and Latino Students and Their Families | National Hispanic and Latino MHTTC
This document informs on what complicated grief is and how the Hispanic and Latino children and youth express it. It provides key aspects of Hispanic and Latino culture and three evidence-based interventions that have been proven to work to address the grieving process with Hispanic and Latino children, youths, and their families. Also, it covers how school personnel can manage this process.
Complicated Grief to Moral Injury: Alleviating Moral Suffering | Northeast & Caribbean MHTTC
In this presentation, we explore the varied manifestations that generate moral injury (often applied to frontline professionals), moral distress (usually used with healthcare professionals), soul injury (often described in police or military combatants and referring to losses that are not mourned and guilt and shame that is associated with the loss), and moral suffering. All of these situations arise from inner conflicts that arise from feeling that one’s professional practice does not follow standards of professional practice or ethical principles. In the presentation, we identify factors responsible for moral suffering as well as strategies for self-help as well as interventive strategies for clients designed to ease moral suffering.
Complicated Grief to Moral Injury: Moral Injury Through the Lens of Diversity and Equity | Northeast & Caribbean MHTTC
Moral Injury is suffering that manifests as a character change in people because of challenges to their core moral foundations, which orient people to what they love and what matters most to them. This presentation will offer prevailing definitions of moral injury, both clinical and spiritual; discuss its relationship to trauma, such as PTSD; describe factors such as various religious and cultural meaning systems, professions, and life circumstances that impact understandings and experiences of it; identify emotions and behaviors that indicate moral suffering; and suggest various strategies that can contribute to healing.
Complicated Grief to Moral Injury: When Grief Becomes Complicated | Northeast & Caribbean MHTTC
In this presentation, we describe varied forms of grief complicated contrasting them with manifestations of typical grief—and noting factors that make individuals at-risk for complications in the grieving process. We also describe varied evidence-based interventive strategies that have been used with individuals struggling with complicated grief. Finally, we note the ways complicated grief is acknowledged within the DSM-5 and the new diagnosis for Prolonged Grief Disorder that will be evident in the DSM-5-TR.
Coping With COVID in our Everyday Lives: Evidence for What Works | Great Lakes MHTTC
For many of us, the accumulated stress, grief, fatigue, and despair of the Covid-19 crisis pose a significant challenge to our coping resources. While this perfect storm of stressors may be unprecedented, there is much we know about how to cope with and manage stress, even at these levels. In this talk, Dr. Kanter describes new research on predictors of coping with the crisis and effective interventions for reducing depression and loneliness during the crisis. Dr. Kanter integrates these new findings with established science and offers strategies for managing the psychological consequences of the crisis in our everyday lives.
Crisis Readiness, Response, and Recovery Webinar Series | Pacific Southwest MHTTC
Bereavement outside the context of a crisis is common – the vast majority of children experience the death of a close family member or friend. These deaths have a significant and often long-term impact on learning, social and emotional development, behavior, and adjustment. This series provides practical suggestions on how schools can talk with and support grieving children in general.
Fostering Grief Ready Workplaces: A Starter Kit for Mental Health and School Mental Health Leadership | Pacific Southwest MHTTC
This resources aims to provide essential ingredients to guide you and your organization through the basics of supporting a grieving workforce. It recaps the contents covered in a Grief Readiness Lab (April- May 2021) and Series (November-December 2021). An overview of what was explored in the Lab and Series is covered, and a taste of some of the conversations shared among participants are also included. The pilot and series were created and hosted by Workplace Resilience, a program of The Dinner Party, and the Pacific Southwest MHTTC and advised by the National Center for School Crisis & Bereavement.
Grief and Loss: An Active Approach for Older Adults | MHTTC Network Coordinating Office
While some talk about stages of grief, the reality is that most of us do not move through grief in a step-by-step way. Having an active approach to grief can empower both older adults and those who serve them to manage this human experience. Differentiating normal grief from prolonged grief disorder and evidence-based treatments are discussed in this training.
This Q&A document addresses how behavioral healthcare providers can cope with grief, loss, and bereavement both personally and professionally and was developed in conjunction with the "Grief, Exhaustion, and Finding Vitality in Behavioral Health Care for Staff" webinar held on February 10, 2022. View the recorded webinar and other related resources here.
Grief, Loss and Bereavement: Coming to Terms with COVID-related Losses | Northwest MHTTC
These module covers skills for dealing with grief, loss and bereavement related to COVID-related losses. This is the recording of a live event which offered a small group training setting with breakout rooms and a facilitated learning environment. This module is part of our Disaster Response and Behavioral Health series with Dr. Kira Mauseth. Learn more about the series here.
Helping My Grieving Student: When COVID Loss Comes Into the School | Northeast & Caribbean MHTTC
This session provided practical advice on how to support grieving students in any context. A range of topics were covered, including what not to stay to a grieving student, considerations related to grief across different cultures, identifying and addressing guilt, appropriate academic accommodations, and managing grief triggers. The unique challenges of supporting grieving students during the current pandemic, as well as free resources for addressing these challenges from the Coalition to Support Grieving Students, were shared.
Managing the Impact of COVID-19 in Children, Families and Communities through Prevention Strategies | Southeast MHTTC
This webinar takes a look at some of the challenges caused by the uncertainty of COVID19, including chronic stress, emotional distress, and loss through the lens of prevention. It provides strategies and solutions for health promotion, with practical tips that translate theory into workable practice. It also provides guidelines for implementing prevention strategies and educating clients on prevention. A workbook via a downloadable PDF accompanies the training to reinforce the concepts provided in the webinar and for use as an ongoing resource.
Native Spirituality: Creating Time and Space for Trauma Recovery and Wellness | New England MHTTC
In this recorded webinar, the topic of native spirituality is discussed. We are now beginning to see light at the end of the pandemic tunnel and many Native people are taking stock of the past 15 months of physical separation and emotional strain. This discussion with Native spiritual and cultural leaders provides an opportunity to applaud the bravery of our health care providers and community members, and to discuss how Native spirituality can support our ability to regain our health and balance. For many, Native spirituality can be a potential antidote that minimizes the consequences of anxiety, fear, depression, and other stresses caused during the coronavirus crisis.
Restoring the Wounded Soul | National Hispanic and Latino MHTTC
In difficult times, rituals provide a certain order to an existence that otherwise might be full of confusion and chaos. Given the current pandemic, loss and grief have taken a front seat. The presenters in this session discuss Latinos' values and rituals as they relate to the current pandemic. The importance of the therapeutic relationship will be discussed as well as approaches and strategies that promote new rituals, new meanings, and a transformative experience. Three case studies are included for group discussion.
Riding the Wave of Stress and Trauma to Enhance Self-Care | Mountain Plains MHTTC
Providers of all occupations are experiencing increased levels of on-the-job stress as they work to respond to the many needs of the individuals they serve during the COVID-19 pandemic. This training provides a metaphor for riding the wave of stress, trauma, and grief. It examined how integrating the brain and body response can heal during times of crisis. A focus is provided on maintaining healing practices and building new pathways to enhance self-care. Traditional Indigenous trauma processing and the importance of grief rituals are explored with a discussion of commonalities of cultures.
Rural Social Isolation and Loneliness Series | Mountain Plains MHTTC
In this session one, trainers discuss what has changed as a result of the current health pandemic, how we can prepare rural providers to ask questions to determine isolation/loneliness, and more. Session two provides examples of programs that address rural isolation among older adults, and how they have adapted during the health pandemic. Finally, the third session focuses on grief and loss and supports available in rural areas.
School Mental Health Crisis Leadership Lessons: Voices of Experience from Leaders in the Pacific Southwest Region | Pacific Southwest MHTTC
This guide highlights how school mental health leaders can – and do – work with and through crises; provides an overview of the crisis continuum; explores the intersection between school crises and school mental health leadership; and examines each component of the school crisis continuum (readiness, response, recovery, and renewal) by learning from voices of experience from the field. A complementary Reflection Worksheet is designed to help readers work through the guide.
Strategies for Addressing Trauma, Crises and Grief Through Tele-Mental Health | MHTTC Network
This is the third and final session of the three-part webinar series, Making a Good Connection: Engaging Students and Families in School Tele-Mental Health, that is geared toward providers who are making the transition from in-person to telehealth services. Session content focuses on practical strategies and equity concerns related to engaging children, adolescents, and families using distance technology.
Using the Lens of Ambiguous Loss to Treat COVID-19 Pandemic Fear and Anxiety | Great Lakes MHTTC
Dr. Pauline Boss explains ambiguous loss, its effects, its differences from ordinary loss and PTSD, and its complicating grief. She presents six culturally inclusive guidelines for treatment and intervention, useful regardless of your discipline. She also addresses self-of-the-therapist issues for these uncertain times.
Alliance for Young Artists & Writers: Grief and Growth during COVID-19 Workshop
Alliance for Young Artists & Writers: Healing Through Creativity
American Counseling Association: Working With Youth Who Experience Grief and Loss
APA Office of Continuing Education: Crisis Response Planning for Preventing Suicidal Behaviors
APA Office of Continuing Education: New Paths for People With Prolonged Grief Disorder
Association for Death Education and Counseling: Grieving the Loss of Living our Lives
Hospice Foundation of America: Complicated Grief in the COVID-19 Era
Hospice Foundation of America: How to Develop and Manage Virtual Grief Support Groups
Hospice Foundation of America: Increased Relevance of Advance Care Planning in the COVID-19 Era
Hospice Foundation of America: Making Funerals Meaningful in the Age of COVID-19
National Association for Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Counselors: Journey Through Grief and Loss
National Association of Social Workers: Grief and Mourning During COVID-19
National Center for School Crisis & Bereavement: COVID-19 Pandemic Resources
School Counselors for MTSS: Webinar Series
Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network: Virtual Summit
The Center for Complicated Grief: Promoting Resilience in Bereaved Children and Parents
The Center for Complicated Grief: Public Mental Health and Bereavement During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Grief Recovery Method: 4-Day Certification Training
The Institute for the Study of Birth, Breath, and Death: Grief Work for Healthcare Providers
Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT): Bereavement
Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (ABCT): Complicated Grief
Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress: Grief Leadership During COVID-19
Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress: Notifying Families After a COVID-19 Death
Child Mind Institute: Helping Children Cope With Grief
National Association of School Psychologists: Addressing Grief
National Association of School Psychologists: When Grief Hits Close to Home
American Counseling Association: Counseling Connoisseur: Death and Bereavement During COVID-19
American Nurse: Grief Management After a Nurse’s Death
American Psychological Association: Grief and COVID-19: Mourning Our Bygone Lives
American Psychological Association: Grieving Life and Loss
Eterneva: Missing a Loved One on Thanksgiving: Ways to Remember Them + Cope With Grief
Imagine, A Center for Coping and Loss: Grief Education for Schools
Scientific American: Grief in the Time of COVID-19
The Dougy Center: When Death Impacts Your School
Good Grief: Funerals in the Time of a Pandemic: A Toolkit for Children & Families
The World Health Organization: Guidelines for the Diagnosis of Prolonged Grief Disorder
SAMHSA’s Disaster Distress Helpline is standing by 24/7 to support you during the pandemic & beyond. Toll-free, multilingual, & confidential support services are available to all residents in the U.S. & its territories. Call 1-800-985-5990 or text TalkWithUs to 66746 to connect with a trained counselor.