Heidi Horsley

Dr. Heidi Horsley is a licensed psychologist, social worker, and bereaved sibling. She co-hosts the award-winning weekly cable television show and podcast, Open to Hope. Dr. Heidi is an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University, and an award-winning author, who has co-authored eight books, and serves on the United Nations Global Mental Health Task Force. She also serves on the Advisory Boards for the Tragedy Assistance Program, the Elisabeth Kubler-Ross Foundation, and Peace of Mind Afghanistan. She served on the National Board of Directors for The Compassionate Friends, and for 10 yrs. worked on a Columbia University research study looking at traumatic loss over time in families who lost a firefighter in the World Trade Center.

Articles:

Maryana Stern: Foster Kids Helping Each Other

During the National Alliance for Grieving Children conference, Dr. Heidi Horsley interviews Maryana Stern of Foster Club and a former foster child in the system. It’s a peer to peer support program, and you need to have been in foster care yourself to participate. Now an advocate, she works to change policies that will improve the experience of foster care and works with children around the world. Another aspect of her work is serving as a mentor and big sister to foster youth who might not otherwise have that experience and support. Having come from the foster system herself, Stern […]

Alexis Sandagato: Teens and Grief

The latest National Alliance for Grieving Children conference brought together Alexis Sandagato and Dr. Heidi Horsley. Sandagato is a teenager who’s a junior in high school and doing a three-year research project on the impacts of parental death and how that affects children. She lost her father when she was two years old, and has spent her childhood without her father. What helped her heal was having a supportive family and professional help. If you feel you need it, don’t be afraid of what anyone else will say or think. Children need support, and to know that other kids have […]

Kaela Vance: Helping Kids Cope with Loss

Dr. Heidi Horsley talks with Kaela Vance at the National Alliance for Grieving Children conference. Vance is getting ready to work with an organization, as well as build her own organization, in Columbus, Ohio that help kids cope with loss. When she was seven years old, her mom died of ovarian cancer. As the eldest of three siblings, that loss inspired her to do this work. Dr. Horsley relates, having been inspired by her brother’s death. As a grieving child, Vance recommends that parents look for a program to help children heal. Vance joined Stepping Stones, which offered day camps […]

Sheila Munafo Kanoza: The Importance of Listening

Dr. Heidi Hosley is at the National Alliance for Grieving Children conference, where she connected with Sheila Munafo Kanoza. Kanoza was widowed 22 years ago after her husband died following his cancer battle of ten years. She had three children, and couldn’t imagine how she could move on. She prayed for God to take her, and eventually asked what she was supposed to do with her life. She got the message that she was supposed to join a bereavement center, although she had no idea what that was at the time. She looked it up, and found that to be […]

Cindy Meek: Grief Support Comes in Many Forms

While attending the National Alliance for Grieving Children conference, Dr. Heidi Horsley talks to Cindy Meek about Amanda the Panda, a grief support group. She’s the program coordinator in West Point, Iowa. The organization offers a free year of grief support to anyone who’s experienced a loss. There are camps, family nights, and other events offering peer to peer support. The whole family is welcome, and Meek says the biggest step to healing is realizing you’re not alone. Others have been in your situation, and there’s great power in healing and reaching out. Secondly, know that grief is something that […]

Darcey Fairchild: Nature-Based Grief Programs for Teens

At the conference for the National Alliance for Grieving Children, Dr. Heidi Horsley talked with Darcey Fairchild who works with TAPS, an organization which serves military families. She began her work just over two years ago in Montana. It was a means of incorporating her love for nature-based programming and her background in social work. Nature based programming can be very helpful for children in grief. As a native Montanan, Fairchild found peace in the natural world and uses it as a way to regulate her emotions. There’s something incredible about spending the day in front of a mountain or […]

Jordan Miraglia: Helping Children through the Grieving Process

During the National Alliance for Grieving Children conference, Dr. Heidi Horsley interviewed Jordan Miraglia of Hands of Hope, an expert in helping children with grief. Miraglia is a bereavement coordinator and former student of Dr. Horsley’s. She works with the only palliative care organization in North Carolina. Partnering with a hospice organization, Miraglia works with grieving children in hospice and palliative care. She manages a bereavement camp twice per year, which is child-centered and family focused, helping the entire family unit. It is very tough to be the grieving parent of a grieving child. She recommends parents to help their […]

Marcie Taylor: The Drew Michael Taylor Foundation

The National Alliance for Grieving Children conference brought together Dr. Heidi Horsley and Marcie Taylor, a bereaved parent who works in the field of grief and loss. Her son died four years ago when he was three years old. Taylor and her husband created the Drew Michael Taylor Foundation in Pennsylvania in memory of Drew. It’s a way to honor her child, serve fellow bereaved families, and empower others who have had a similar life situation. Grief is isolating and a very lonely feeling. Surrounding yourself with supportive people who “get it” is critical. It’s important, whether you get it […]

Jennifer Collins Taylor: Conversations About Death

Dr. Heidi Horsley of the Open to Hope Foundation interviews Jennifer Collins Taylor on behalf of the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) organization. Taylor is the founder of Living Life, Dying Death, an author, and a speaker specializing in how to have meaningful and healthy conversations about death, dying, and grieving. She lost her brother 31 years ago, and that was the catalyst for pursuing a career in death and dying. “Who am I now that he’s not here on this planet?” she asks. She watched her family grieve and the ensuing fallout. Figuring out what life and […]

Should Children Participate in Funeral Services?

Dr. David Meagher created the graduate program of Thanatology at Brooklyn College, where he’s also an emeritus professor. He joins Dr. Heidi Horsley for a special episode of the Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) organization’s web series to discuss whether or not children should participate in funeral services. The short answer? It depends. There are many factors to consider, and every child is different. It can be healing or harmful depending on the scenario, as well as how it’s handled. He’s also the author of Zach and His Dog, which shares how children may handle grief. Post-death rituals […]

Open to Hope is an online community offering inspirational stories of loss, hope and recovery. We believe hope is the bridge between loss and recovery.