Grief Recovery

What is the Grief Recovery Method™?

Grief is a healthy and natural human response to loss. If not supported during the grieving process, people can experience conflicting emotions. Unresolved grief can lead to long-term depression and anxiety; impacting someone’s performance and engagement while at work.

No matter how recent your loss is, the Grief Recovery Method™ can be applied to complete the unfinished business generated by any loss and allow the griever to return to a daily functioning life.

It is a robust, dynamic, sensible, and accessible programme that genuinely works for anyone who wants to return to a sense of purpose after experiencing a difficult phase. It can be applied to any of the following losses that one experiences in life:

• Death
• End of a relationship/marriage
• Loss of job
• Loss of health
• Moving
• Any other loss, i.e. loss of a pet, miscarriage, loss of fertility or loss of faith in life

The tools and strategies taught can be applied to future losses as well. Further, they can help increase one’s capacity for happiness, joy, and wellbeing.

What is the Grief Recovery Method Action Programme?

The Grief Recovery Method™ (*GRM) has been effectively used by hundreds of thousands of grievers across the globe. The One Action Programme is exactly what it suggests: individuals work on their recovery, guided by an experienced, certified grief recovery specialist. Moreover, the Grief Recovery Method is the only grief programme whose effectiveness has been proved by independent research.

1) The GRM programme was exclusively developed by grievers FOR grievers and is based on over 40 years of first-hand experience. It has been implemented across the globe in 22 different countries and translated into more than 15 different languages.

2) It is a seven or eight week x 2-hour step-by-step class on how to perform the actions necessary to recover from grief. It is neither a support chat, nor is it any form of counselling or therapy. It can be used alongside other practices and, thus, the individual is not expected to replace or terminate any other support channels.

3) GRM is task-based, with weekly homework assignments using the Grief Recovery Handbook as reference.

4) The GRM programme is an evidence-informed, practice-based programme that has been proven to bring about grief recovery effectively.

5) After completion, the most frequently reported coping behaviours that respondents were less likely to engage in were nicotine use, smoking, misuse of prescription drugs, illicit drug use, overeating, alcohol abuse, and gambling.

6) After completion, the most frequently reported coping behaviours that respondents were more likely to engage in were exercise, sleeping, shopping, meditation, and prayer.

The actions facilitated in this programme allow grievers to relive fond memories by erasing the pain. The tools and strategies acquired can be applied to future losses as well.

We support individuals with the following:

• Help with getting back to a daily functioning life after a loss
• 1:1 programme – 7 weekly sessions
• Support group programme 8 weekly sessions

We support organisations with the following:

• Bespoke training on how to handle other people’s losses in the workplace – aimed at HR and leaders
• One-day workshops for all levels of employees – grief awareness
• Helping clients and employees say the right thing when faced with grief in the workplace
• Speaking events

The Grief Recovery Method is a toolkit that supports healing in the long run, something that I can help you with now.

Cecilia Shandeva is a Grief Recovery Method Specialist operates under licence from the Grief Recovery Institute.

Listen to my interview with Psychologist Mamta Saha, Bereavement, Grieving and Recovery. 

Read about my research Bereavement, Mental Health & the Workplace.