Howard Winokuer

Dr. Howard R. Winokuer, Ph.D., LPC, NCC, brings a special sensitivity and total commitment to his work. Dr. Winokuer was the co-founder of TO LIFE, a not-for-profit educational and counseling organization that specialized in issues dealing with grief and loss. During his twenty-year career, he has worked with thousands of people suffering from these issues. He has conducted workshops and seminars throughout the United States, as well as in seven foreign countries. Dr. Winokuer has written numerous articles on topics such as coping with grief, relationships, aging, parents and teen suicide. He has recently completed a book entitled A Simple Guide to a Peaceful Life. Dr. Winokuer has a private practice specializing in grief and loss www.thewinokuercenter.com and is the incoming president of the Association of Death Education and Counseling (ADEC).

Articles:

Taking Care of Yourself Through the Grief Process: Interview with Dr. Howard R. Winokuer

At the annual ADEC (Association of Death Education and Counseling), I spoke with Dr. Howard R. Winokuer about burnout after the death of a loved one and how we can take care of ourselves. In the video below, Howard shares advice on how to deal with burnout following the death of a loved one. Here are some key takeaways from the video: The first thing that comes to Howard’s mind, which is from his own experience dealing with the death of his parents, is that no matter how much you know about grief it doesn’t make the process any easier. […]

Is ‘Getting Over It’ the Goal?

“Loss is about all kinds of things,” says Dr. Howard Winokuer, who spoke with Dr. Gloria Horsley at an Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) conference. As the president of ADEC, he works with Dr. Gloria’s organization, the Open to Hope Foundation, very closely. Loss can include divorce, moving, growing older, and of course death. Each of these examples can come with intense trauma and grieving periods. Grief happens when we experience a loss, and vice versa. Grief is a reaction to a loss, and a requirement. If you’ve loved someone or something, why would you ever “get over […]

Reinvesting in Living After the Loss of a Loved One

How can you get back to living after you lose someone you love? That was the topic of discussion between Dr. Gloria Horsley and Dr. Howard Winokuer during an Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) conference. As the president of ADEC, Winokuer has dedicated his life to helping the bereaved in their healing process. In the early stages, it can be common to feel like you can’t go on. There’s a thin line between grief and depression. However, it’s a mark of grief when the bereaved begin to seek out meaning in life after a loss. Getting there is […]

Howard Winokuer: Having Hope

“It’s okay to see past some of the issues,” urges Dr. Howard Winokuer, the founder of The Winokuer Center for Counseling and Healing in Charlotte, North Carolina. Speaking with Dr. Heidi Horsley at the Association of Death Education and Counseling conference in 2015, he explains that, “It’s okay to have hope even if things don’t look hopeful.” Guilt is commonly linked with hope in the grieving process, and it can be hard to untangle the two. He recalls a time when he was talking to a friend a few months after her son died, and she laughed at one of […]

Where Was God?

co-authored with Heidi Horsley, PsyD, LMSW, MS, executive director of Open to Hope Foundation Footprints in the Sand “So I said to the Lord, You promised me Lord, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there have only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, You have not been there for me?” The Lord replied, “The times when you have seen only one set of footprints, is when I carried you.” Mary Stevenson A question that […]

Help Grieving Children Know They are Not Alone

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 of a child is traumatic. It often turns one’s life upside down and puts everything we ever believed into question. Regardless of the way a child dies, we are never prepared to lose them. As parents we do not expect to outlive our children, and as siblings, we just assume we will travel through life together and grow old together. Not only are […]

How to Talk to Children About Death

By Howard R. Winokuer, Ph.D., FT Death is a subject that is usually not discussed, especially with children. Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, one of the pioneers in the field of death and dying, has been quoted as saying that we live in a “death denying society.” It is believed that if death is not talked about, then maybe it won’t happen. Death is not something that can be avoided, of course. And at some point, almost all of us will face a death where a child is one of the survivors. What will we say? What will we do? First and […]

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