Local Grief Support Resources
By: Addison Koch
Thursday, March 7, 2019
As funeral directors, part of our job is to help families through the grieving process. From the first call until long after the service has ended, we provide support to help you through this difficult situation. We can also put you in touch with outside resources and groups in and around Bellbrook that can help manage your grief.
Below we touch on 4 different types of grief support resources: grief therapists, support groups, hotlines, and online chatrooms/forums.
Grief Counseling
When you experience a significant loss like the death of a loved one, grieving is a normal and healthy response. However, everyone grieves differently and sometimes professional help from a grief therapist is needed. For some, support from family and friends might be enough to help navigate the journey of grief. But for others, grief therapy can be a powerful tool that they might not initially consider.
Grief therapy offers many benefits that are often overlooked:
- Many people feel like they cannot grieve freely around family and friends. Generally, these individuals are grieving too and so they are not able to provide the support you need.
- A grief therapist has specific expertise in the grieving process, and in turn can fully explain it to you, help manage your emotions, and help you along the healing process.
- Grief counselors will provide you with advanced strategies and tools to help you cope
- Grief counseling will help you accept the loss and this new state of your life.
- People who are heavily grief-stricken have trouble doing simple daily tasks. Grief therapists work on coping mechanisms that will allow your life to still be moving forward.
- Grief therapists provide a safe environment and space for you to work through the grieving process.
- Grief counselors will help you find warmth and comfounsplashrt in recalling positive memories.
List of Grief Counselors in and near Bellbrook
Beth Collins
Beth Collins is a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor with a Master’s degree in Counseling and a Bachelor’s degree in Organizational Behavior. Beth works with clients who have experienced traumatic situations and offers counseling with a Christian focus.
website: http://www.joyinthebalance.com
1930 N Lakeman Avenue
Suite 103
Bellbrook,Ohio 45305
(937) 528-1075
Holly St. Pierre
Holly St. Pierre is an accomplished Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor that works with everyone from children to adults. Her goal is to empower clients to work through their struggles with respect, encouragement, and integrity.
website: https://www.hrscounseling.com
52 Bellbrook Plaza
Bellbrook,Ohio 45305
(937) 608-4204
Turning Inward, LLC
Operated by Licensed Professional Counselor, Tracy Hunt, Turning Inward, LLC helps people who are experiencing life transitions, stress, and grief.
website: https://www.turninginwardllc.com
100 Corry Street (entrance on side of building facing post office)
Yellow Springs,Ohio 45387
(937) 530-4287
Deb Berghuis, PhD, LPCC
Deb Berghuis is a trauma informed therapist working with people from a wide variety of backgrounds. Her integrative approach to therapy promotes healing, wholeness, and lasting change.
website: https://drdebberghuis.com
11 West Monument
Suite 416
Dayton,Ohio 45402
(937) 500-0504
Keep Moving Forward Counseling & Consulting
As a collective of therapists, Keep Moving Forward Counseling & Consulting’s goal is to gain a deeper understanding and insight into yourself, your relationships, and develop different ways of thinking and interacting with the world.
website: http://www.keepmovingforwardcounseling.com
515 Windsor Park Drive
Dayton,Ohio 45459
(937) 723-9881
Amy Brown
With more than 20 years of experience, Amy Brown can help you listen to your own intuitive knowledge and use tools to express and discover your own unique healing process. If you are facing issues of loss, grief and major life transitions, Amy can help you heal through creativity.
website: http://amyshokobrown.com
1948 E. Whipp Road
Kettering,Ohio 45440
(845) 262-6825
TCN Behavioral Health
TCN Behavioral Health is a non-profit organization that offers a range of behavioral health and prevention services to youth and adults in Greene County. They have 4 locations with therapists that specialize and help treat mental health, grief, and other issues.
website: https://www.tcn.org
TCN Xenia
452 West Market Street
Xenia,Ohio 45385
(937) 376-8700
TCN Kettering
3085 Woodman Dr.
Suite 300
Kettering,Ohio 45420
(937) 376-8700
TCN Fairborn
600 E. Dayton Yellow Spring Rd.
Fairborn,Ohio 45324
(937) 376-8700
Family Solutions Center
287 Cincinnati Ave.
Xenia,Ohio 45385
(937) 608-4204
Grief Support Groups
Some individuals feel like grief support groups are a better outlet for them than seeing a grief counselor. In some cases, some people use both resources and oftentimes grief counselors suggest support groups in addition to one-on-one sessions.
Below are some of the benefits of joining grief support groups:
- You will be instilled with hope that you can heal and feel better.
- People who have suffered a loss can provide advice that you may not get elsewhere. These individuals are going through the grief that you are experiencing, or they have gone through the process in the past. From experience, they can offer what has helped them feel better. Furthermore, people apart of support groups can grow close and create strong bonds.
- On Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, one of the main tiers is a sense of “belonging”. Simply joining a grief support group will give you a sense of acceptance and belonging. Grief is not a club anyone wants be apart of but once you are there it is beneficial to surround yourself with others sharing that experience.
- Further to the point above, while experiencing grief, especially for new widows and widowers, you will often feel very alone. Joining a support group will at the very least make you feel less isolated.
- Not only can you help yourself through your loss, but helping others with their pain should make you feel good and inject some positive emotions.
List of Grief Support Groups in and near Bellbrook
Below are several local grief support groups in Dayton, Kettering and Bellbrook.
Growing Through Grief
Growing Through Grief is a support group for adults who have lost a loved one. The group is offered in eight week sessions throughout the year starting January – November on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 10 – 11:30 am, and Tuesdays at 6 – 7:30 pm. Growing Through Grief is held at the Dayton Hospice Campus in Pathways of Hope. Please contact a bereavement counseling staff member at (937) 258-4991 for enrollment.
Coffee Connection
Coffee Connection groups meet monthly for an hour at various locations in Springboro and Dayton. The group provides more informal support for bereaved adults. Registration is not required. For more information call Pathways of Hope, (937) 258-4991.
Art Forever After
Art Forever After is a multi-generational art-based group that allows people of all ages to create art together. The group meets weekly for three months and is offered twice per year. The group meets at the William & Dorothy Yeck Family Grief Counseling Art Center on the Ohio’s Hospice of Dayton campus.
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Group
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church Group is a grief support group that meets weekly for 13 straight weeks. The group is open to anyone that is experiencing the challenges of grief or loss. The group costs $20 and participants receive a workbook to use during the sessions. To learn more contact Pam Bauser, GriefShare Facilitator at (937) 298-0136.
First Baptist Kettering Group
First Baptist Kettering Group is a GriefShare support group for people grieving the death of a loved one. The group will help you find encouragement as you mourn the loss of a loved one. The program costs $15 and can be registered for by calling Jay, the GriefShare leader at (937) 760-6268.
Hillside Chapel Group
Hillside Chapel Group is a grief emergency room for people who are in mourning. The group costs $15 to register and drop-ins are welcome. To register or get more information, call (937) 426-5685.
Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Group
Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Group is a GriefShare support group that offers 14 weekly sessions and costs $15. For more information or to register, contact Spencer Hargadon, Family Life Coordinator at (937) 252-9919 ext. 207.
New Life Fellowship Group
New Life Fellowship group meets every two weeks in the church’s hall. The group meets for 2 hours to help those who have experienced a loss. To register for the program, please contact Pastor, Timothy A Hume at (937) 252-2611 for more information.
Fairhaven Church Group
Fairhaven Church Group meets weekly for 90 minute sessions. During sessions, participants can receive support and encouragement from others who are grieving as well. The program costs $15 and you can register by calling Beth Kloos, Support Group Coordinator at (937) 545-8893.
Celebrate Recovery
Celebrate Recovery is a Christ-centered support program to help people deal with life’s hurts, habits, and hang-ups. The group meets weekly, and aims to celebrate God’s healing power. To learn more, contact Fairhaven Church at (937) 434-8627.
Young Widowers Support
Young Widowers Support is a grief support group for young men in their 20's-40's, who've lost their spouse/partner due to death. The group meets on the first Tuesday of each month from 6-7 pm. The cost is $20 per meeting, and a brief pre-screening is required before attending your first meeting. Please contact Tracy Hunt at 937-321-9794.
Oak Tree Corner
Oak Tree Corner is a support center for grieving children in Dayton. The center is designed for children aged 3-18 who have experienced the death of someone special like a parent, grandparent, or sibling. To learn more about Oak Tree Corner and how it can help your child, please call (937) 285-0199.
Hotlines and Chatrooms
Even if you regularly attend a grief support group or meet with a grief therapist, sometimes you just need to talk. If you find yourself unable to talk to someone immediately, a grief hotline or chatroom can help. The great thing is you can reach out to them from anywhere. You don’t even have to leave the house.
Staying anonymous is another benefit. If you feel uncomfortable going to a therapist or support group, many grief hotlines and chatrooms allow you to receive support while remaining anonymous.
List of Helplines
Grief Recovery Helpline
Offers counseling, referrals, support and publications
1-800-445-4808
American Trauma Society
The American Trauma Society is dedicated to the elimination of needless death and disability from injury.
1-800-556-7890
National Alliance on Mental Illness
NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.
1-800-950-6264
Mental Health America
Mental Health America (MHA) – founded in 1909 – is the nation's leading community-based non-profit organization dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and to promoting the overall mental health of all Americans.
1-800-969-6642
List of Chatrooms & Forums
Hopefully this blog post gives you an idea of the abundance of grief support resources. There is no shortage of grief support groups, counselors, and hotlines that can provide you with help during this difficult time.
