Task #2: Working through the pain of grief.
We continue our mini video series on Worden’s Four Tasks of Mourning with the second task, working through the pain of grief. Stated simply, this task involves understanding and feeling the emotions that go with the pain of grief.
As we mentioned with our first video, grief counselor, Jan McCarthy, is providing us with a series of short videos on Psychologist J. William Worden’s Four Tasks of Mourning, breaking down the tasks one video at a time. Jan reminds us in this 2nd video that recognizing the feelings is important. When we can express our feelings and name them, we can manage them.
Worden’s Tasks of Mourning (in a nutshell)
In our support groups, we would go over the 4 tasks of mourning at each session. They are worth repeating. Remember, 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 McCarthy has been our grief counselor for over seven years. Although we are not holding any in-person support groups at this time, Jan continues to offer us support and hope for healing. 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. Jan will be doing a series of videos for us on Worden’s Tasks of Mourning over the next few weeks that will be available for viewing on our website. These short videos will cover the four tasks, one task at a time. Although the tasks aren’t linear, Jan will be covering them in numerical order.
You can view the second video on Working through the Pain of Grief below.