David Fireman's Page

In American society we suffer from long-standing patterns of anxiety and denial about death.  Perhaps as a result, in our grief and mourning processes, we’ve learned to cope with our powerful reactions with self-control and “strength.”  It seems we are socially conditioned to be stoic, to “move on,”  “get back to work,” “be strong.”  These habits severely limit our freedom to grieve naturally and openly for any loved one we’ve lost.…

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Loss is hard enough, but when the environment won't or can't surround us in our loss with consistent comfort and useful resources, then it becomes even harder.  There's a term being used in the bereavement literature called complicated mourning or traumatic grief reaction.  These are often used interchangeably.  In my experience virtually all loss experiences are complicated and traumatic to a certain degree.  In any case, there are ways in which the natural grief process can get distorted,… Continue

Last Saturday, The Center for Grief Recovery hosted its first-ever fundraiser walk to celebrate 25 years of service to the bereavement community.  The day was hot, but there was a cool breeze off lake Michigan and the trees offered nice shade. 

 

A group of 60+ people attended the walk, which began with welcoming remarks, a brief history of the Center and its mission, and an invocation by the Center's KC Conway, LCSW. 

 

Before the walk commenced, participants…

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At the Center for Grief Recovery, we work primarily with individuals.  But individuals make up groups and groups make up communities.  These days we have both physical and virtual communities.  As the world around us continues to show signs of chaos, it seems increasingly important for places of coherence to come into being.  Place of coherence establish a sense of order, purpose, reliability, and predictability.  Perhaps we can think of community as a potential place of coherence.  In…

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We are born knowing how to grieve.  As children, we cry naturally to feel better, to let go of our pain, to release the burdens of pent-up emotions.  It helped us lessen the weight from our shoulders.  Positive expressions of grief are helpful to us.  It is the lack of such expression that leads to chronic tension and dissatisfaction in life and even aggression and violence.

 

But there are actions we can take as a community to promote the healthy and safe expression of intense…

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