If you have ever attended one of our bereavement groups, you know that our grief counselor, Jan McCarthy, would always remind us that she is bringing “hope” into the room. Since we currently are not hosting grief groups, we have made arrangements with Jan to bring hope to you with a series of short videos on grief and healing over the course of the next few weeks.
Specifically, Jan is going to be talking about Worden’s Tasks of Mourning, breaking down the task one video presentation at a time. Psychologist J. William Worden provided the four tasks to help us understand how we journey through grief. Although the tasks are not meant to be necessarily linear, we will be presenting the videos in numerical order.
Worden’s Tasks of Mourning (in a nutshell)
Before we list the tasks, we just want to remind you, there’s no particular order or timeline to accomplishing these steps. We all experience our own loss, in our own way, on our own schedule.
Task #1: To accept the reality of the loss.
Task #2: Work through the Pain of Grief
Task #3: To adjust to an Environment in Which the Deceased is Missing
Task #4: To Find an Enduring Connection with the Deceased While Embarking on a New Life
About Jan McCarthy
Jan began her work with the bereaved as a support group facilitator with Catholic Charities Bereavement Support Ministry. She is a former Program Manager for the Good Grief Center for Bereavement Support, presenter for the Grief Training Institute, and is a grief counselor. Jan’s warm, compassionate style supports her personal mission to instill hope for the healing through education and support.
You can watch our first video in the series here. We hope it provides you with comfort knowing there is hope for healing.