Free Grief Counseling for Students, Public

Published: November 05, 2012 | Read Time: 2 minutes

Southern Utah University Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) will be offering community members and students a free six-week bereavement and grief support group. All who are suffering with grief or loss are invited to attend beginning Wednesday, November 7.

“We started conducting these grief groups that are open to the community because of the help and comfort that comes from finding others who are suffering from the same pain,” said De Nean Davis, leading therapist of the counseling group.

The groups began over eight years ago when the counseling offices saw many students and community members suffering from grief. With many people having exhausted their resources of who to talk to about their grief, this support group is a chance for anyone, no matter their loss, to find a safe place to voice their pain.

“It is a place that one can come and feel secure and learn how to effectively manage their pain,” said Davis. “Having the group be a mix of students and community members adds a certain atmosphere that is hard to find. The mix of ages is a major benefit for all in attendance. They learn from one another’s weaknesses and strengths.”

For the first half hour of every class, Davis and another therapist will teach the group about bereavement, how to manage their own, varied forms of grief. The rest of the session will be a chance for attendees to talk about their own grief and connect with and support others who are similarly dealing with loss.

All are invited that are suffering from any form of grief or bereavement, if loss has been fairly recent, CAPS requests that you begin with one-on-one counseling, but if this is your only outlet, please attend the group session.

The free, open bereavement support group will be conducted weekly in the CAPS offices within SUU’s Sharwan Smith Student Center from 5:30 – 7 p.m. every Wednesday for six weeks. Those interested can simply show up at the first meeting or call 435-865-8621 to learn more beforehand. Enrollment into the group will span the first two weeks; following the close of the second meeting, the group will be closed, reserved for ongoing group members at that time.

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Contact Information:

435-586-5400
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