Grief support

Mission Hospice offers bereavement support for those who are grieving or facing the death of a loved one. We can help you:

  • Learn about the grief process
  • Express your feelings of grief
  • Talk about loved ones who have died
  • Sort through the stresses and anxieties that may come with new roles and responsibilities
  • Discover how to use natural strengths to get through this difficult time
  • Uncover the potential for growth and transformation following loss

Grief support groups and workshops

Mission Hospice professionals host free grief support groups and workshops open to family members of Mission Hospice patients, and to all bereaved individuals living in Mission Hospice’s geographical service area. To keep our community safe during COVID-19, we have moved our bereavement support groups and workshops online, until further notice.

Individual grief counseling
 
We offer individual grief counseling for Mission Hospice family members (adults and youth), by phone or video. We also offer play therapy for grieving children. $100 per session. Family members of our hospice clients receive eight sessions free. Our state license permits us to provide counseling only for family members living in California; we can provide referrals and resources for people who live outside of California. For more information, contact Christine Kovach at 650.532.2390 or by email.
 
Counseling for complicated grief
 
It is natural to feel intense grief when someone close dies, but for people with complicated grief more than a year after the loss, it is hard to focus on the present and future. People with complicated grief have things that get in the way of the natural process of adapting to a loss. They might struggle with troubling thoughts, excessive avoidance of reminders of the loss, and difficulty managing painful emotions.

Mission Hospice offers an evidence-based treatment for complicated grief. Dr. Katherine Shear, founder of the Center for Complicated Grief at Columbia University, has developed a 16-week intensive treatment proven to help adults suffering from complicated grief. Our bereavement counselors offer this structured grief therapy, using Dr. Shear’s model. $150 per session. Contact Isabel Stenzel at 650.931.8236 or by email.

Other bereavement support

  • Free phone support, resources, and referral
  • Lending library with a wide selection of books for adults and children in our San Mateo office
  • Play therapy for grieving children
  • Inservice training on coping with grief for facility staff
  • Annual Day of Remembrance

To find out more about our grief counseling services for adults and children, please contact us.