News headlines are increasingly filled with tragic stories of youth becoming violent because they seemingly are lashing out to their peers as a way of expressing their anger, which I believe is often a result …

Question from a reader: Two months ago, my 21-year-old nephew, my sister’s only child, was killed in a car accident.  I was 19 when he was born.  I have feelings of love for him almost …

How does someone pick up the pieces after losing a spouse and child in a tragic car accident that involved their whole family?  Sheri Boekweg-Nelson of Plain City, Utah, and her two kids survived this …

By Howard Winokuer, Ph.D., LPC, NCC, FT, and Heidi Horsley, Psy.D, LMSW, MS
“What we have once enjoyed we can never lose. All that we love deeply becomes a part of us.” — Helen Keller
The death …

It is the summer of 2007. At eighty-five years old, my mother is in the hospital for the second time in as many weeks. She is weak and tired and more than a little frightened. …

As the world pulls together to deliver physical necessities such as food, water and shelter, we must remember to respond to the emotional healing that is needed nationwide in Haiti as well. 
Following the earthquake, the …

“Grandma, why are you crying?”
 This was the question, as a six-year-old, that I remember asking my beloved Grandma Jensen as she cleaned out her attic.  Among the treasures we found sorting through the bows and arrows, …

By Mary Jane Hurley Brant, M.S., CGP –
This month, let’s talk about the four seasons of marriage: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. Usually we think of marriage as a relationship with our partner but it …

Death is a difficult and sensitive topic to discuss with children. So often adults feel at a loss for words. Without knowing what to say or how to say it, many parents and professionals avoid …

Question from a reader: I recently tried to join a grief group. When the leader found out that my wife had not died, she told me that the others in the group would not feel …

Five-year-old Greg was sad. His pet gerbil, Jasper, had died. Jasper was lying in the cage very still. Greg started screaming and crying and Mom ran into the room to see what happened. “Something is …

The holiday season is painful for adults after the death of a loved one, but it can be even more isolating and distressing for children if they are not given ample guidance from the adults …

My daughter was 45 years old when she died on a February night from the injuries she received in a car crash.  The last time I saw her, she was taking her children to see …

I have been in and out of jail for well over a year.
I’m not there because I’ve broken a law or violated probation. I visit the barb wired facility to bring hope into a very …

Our roles in life define us.  Parent, spouse, student, employee, sibling, and offspring are some examples.  Our identity is shaped by these roles. 
Before my husband’s death, my defining roles were mother, wife and caregiver.  With …

I expected to have this “grieving thing” wrapped up within a year. The way I saw it, I was 47 and probably had less years ahead of me than behind. I was willing to grieve …