Grief Support
Holding a funeral or memorial service for your loved one is a positive first step in the grieving process. Family members and friends get a chance to say their goodbyes, and at the same time, they get to share strong feelings with one another.
In the days, weeks and months following the service, people continue to need others to lean on for understanding, encouragement and guidance. For that reason, many local and national support groups have formed. These groups provide a common place and a comforting environment for expressing emotions through each phase of the grieving process. To learn more, click on the links below, or discuss grief counseling and support options with your funeral director.
General Grief Resources
- AARP Grief & Loss: a collection of resources and an on-line support community.
- National Funeral Directors Association: Frequently Asked Questions about grief.
- American Cancer Society - Support to cancer patients, family and friends.
- Growth House - Discusses hospice care, dying with dignity, terminal illness, grief and bereavement.
- GROWW.org - message boards, resource listings and secure chat rooms for the grieving.
- WidowNet - an information and support resource for, and by, widows and widowers.
- National SIDS and Infant Death Program Support Center - provides research, education, and support for families dealing with SIDS.
- Bereaved Parents USA - a nationwide organization designed to aid and support bereaved parents and their families.
- The Compassionate Friends - supports families who have experienced the death of a child.
- SHARE Pregnancy & and Infant Loss Support - provides support to those whose lives are touched by the tragic death of a baby through early pregnancy loss, stillbirth or newborn death.
- Fernside Online - an online resource for grieving children.
- The Dougy Center - the first center in the United States to provide peer support groups for grieving children. They provide support and training locally, nationally and internationally to individuals and organizations seeking to assist children in grief.
Paula M. Peterson is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and an Ordained Interfaith Minister. She has been living and working on the eastern end of Long Island for over twenty-five years.
She is Certified in Thanatology through ADEC (The Association of Death Education and Counseling, Inc.
She coordinated the social work services at St. Charles Hospice program leading bereavement groups and providing individual and family counseling. She also worked with East End Hospice until going into private practice in 1997.
She trained with and completed Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's "Externalization" program called "Life, Loss & Transition".
Paula lectures and presents workshops in the fields of death, dying, loss and transition, including how to prepare for our final passages.
Paula can be contacted by email - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone (631) 283-6729