My Path to Grief Recovery Work
For years, I considered going back to school to earn a Master’s in Counseling. I’ve revisited that idea many times. But with high school and college-aged kids, the timing hasn’t felt right. I need to prioritize getting them launched first.
And honestly, I kept asking myself a bigger question: Is counseling the only path toward helping others through pain? Are there other options?
The Hard Work of Working through Grief
I’ve always been drawn toward people who are suffering. While some shy away from grief, illness, or death, I don’t. I can sit with people in the middle of loss. I’m not afraid of the heaviness. I’ve learned how to stay.
I think part of that comes from my faith.
Scripture is full of lament. Full of people crying out, questioning, grieving, wrestling. The Psalms don’t sanitize sorrow. Jesus Himself wept. Faith has never meant the absence of grief.
And yet, in many faith spaces, we are taught what to believe — but not how to grieve. And I’ve had plenty of my own grief to practice with.
Over the years I’ve experienced:
- Moving far from family
- Losing multiple loved ones to death (some tragically and far too young)
- Addiction in close family relationships
- Estrangement
- Infertility and pregnancy loss
- Adoption
- Loss of health
- Parenting a child with significant medical needs
- Betrayal by friends
- Loss of trust in church systems
And like many of you, the past decade has felt especially grief-laden as we’ve navigated division and disillusionment in our broader culture. Through all of it, one truth kept surfacing:
Most people don’t know how to process grief.
They carry it.
They suppress it.
They cope around it.
But they don’t move through it.
In faith spaces, We pray. We quote Scripture. We try to “trust God.” But we are rarely given tools to actually move through heartbreak in a healthy way.
Unprocessed grief doesn’t disappear because we have strong theology. It doesn’t dissolve because we believe the right things. It settles into our bodies. It shapes our relationships. It shows up sideways — as anxiety, anger, numbness, conflict, or despair.
That’s when I knew I wanted to focus specifically on grief.
Searching for the Right Path
I began researching alternatives to traditional counseling programs.
There were many “grief coaching” certifications available, but most felt subjective and loosely structured. I didn’t want something vague. I didn’t want theory without direction.
I wanted something:
- Tested
- Proven
- Practical
- Repeatable
- Effective
I wanted tools that could bring real resolution, not just insight. Because, I believe God cares not only about what we believe, but about the condition of our hearts.
That’s when I found the Grief Recovery Institute.
The Grief Recovery Method is the only evidence-based grief recovery program in the world. It’s an action-based, structured approach designed to help people move through unresolved grief in a clear and supported way.
(The research behind it can be found here: https://www.griefrecoverymethod.com/evidence-based)
Founded in the 1980s, the Institute now trains professionals across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and several other countries. This isn’t new. It’s not trendy. It’s established and refined.
What Truly Convinced Me
During my first call with the Institute, I spoke with a man who had been using the Grief Recovery Method for 15 years. He holds a Master’s in Psychology and is a licensed mental health therapist.
He told me something that stopped me in my tracks:
In his years of practice, he found that much of what people struggle with — addiction, anxiety, depression, emotional pain, relationship breakdown — often had unprocessed grief at its root. That resonated deeply with what I had observed in ministry spaces, in friendships, and in my own life.
When he began using the Grief Recovery Method in his therapy practice, he saw such profound results that he eventually transitioned to working solely with the Institute.
That conversation mattered to me. If a seasoned therapist with advanced training believed this method was transformative enough to center his work around it, I paid attention.
Real Results
Since becoming certified, I’ve experienced the impact personally. I’ve used the method to work through some of my own grief, and it brought clarity and freedom in ways I didn’t expect.
I’ve also watched it bring breakthroughs for others.
The program is structured as a 7-week one-on-one process or an 8-week group format. It’s focused, intentional, and guided. And when people complete it, they leave with:
- Greater emotional freedom
- Resolution around unresolved grief
- Practical tools to use for the rest of their lives
This isn’t about endlessly retelling your story. It’s about completing what feels unfinished.
One client told me: “This helped me have a breakthrough that 10 years of counseling wasn’t able to give me.”
That doesn’t mean counseling isn’t valuable — it absolutely can be, and I recommend it when appropriate. But this method is uniquely designed to target unresolved grief directly and effectively. And for many people, that’s the missing piece.
Why I’m Proud to Do This Work
I am proud to be certified through the Grief Recovery Institute. Not because it’s impressive, but rather because it works.
I believe tending to our grief is one way we steward the hearts God has given us. We cannot bypass sorrow and expect to flourish. We cannot ignore pain and expect it not to shape us.
If you’re carrying unresolved grief, whether from death, divorce, estrangement, betrayal, faith loss, health challenges, or unmet expectations, there is a path forward.
You don’t have to spiritualize it away.
You don’t have to minimize it.
And you don’t have to walk it alone.