Description
We all will grieve if we have had people in our lives, friendships or love.
It’s one of the toughest parts of living.
You found the First 52 for your own number of reasons. You may be looking for some self-help tools. On the other hand, you may not have resources in your area OR you may not want to participate in groups or workshops due to the private nature of your situation. You are welcome here.
The First 52 provides useful information and tools to help you now. I share my experiences from a personal and professional perspective…
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“How do I get through this?” is a common and real question.
The tough answer is that it’s moment to moment some days and it’s certainly acknowledging and getting to know your grief better.
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The First 52 is the closest to a step by step guide to the first year of grief that I’ve seen. You don’t have to try to figure it out all on your own. The lessons will guide you through.
You will have the best tools to help you understand YOUR grief proven by my work with own clients since 2009. I have had my own personal experience with grief. Sudden death due to asthma, suicide, death due to cancer, loss after long term illness and unexpected accidental death. I know each of my relationships were unique and each grief was equally different. This is where we are similar – your grief is unique to you.
I decided to make a necessary and rewarding change to counseling and art therapy after caregiving for my own mother-in-law. So, Art Therapy and Counseling are a second career for me that began In 2009. I have a dual Master’s Degree in Counseling and Art Therapy and licenced for counseling in both Illinois and Indiana. I have presented throughout Illinois and have traveled in the US to present regarding art therapy, grief, and coping.
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Life may seem uncertain right now. After significant deaths, my life was different. After caregiving, my life was different. Now, in my understanding of my grief, I am still different. I have and will continue to grow and deepen my relationship with my spirit through these experiences. I’m here to tell you, there is hope in living with grief.
❤︎ Lessons are released every other day to allow time to sit with a topic. Grief is not to be rushed. Rather it is to be understood.
This time offers space to digest and make sense of a lesson before moving to the next topic. Various topics that include different ways of grieving, coping strategies, remembering, and preparing for anniversaries and special days, just to name a few.
I set out to create a comprehensive grief program… and I did just that for you. Your grief is just too important.
❤︎ Useful website links, videos, handouts, and activities to guide you in your grief.
Friendly videos delivered in bite-size bits of information that is easy to understand and apply to your life. Tailored to how we think when newly grieving. Reduce the internet overwhelm with direct links to helpful information.
You can expect:
You can expect:❤︎ Easy Access through the Grief on the Go app or log-in on the website.
❤︎ Useful tools like website links, videos, handouts, and activities to guide you in your grief. Downloads available throughout the program.
❤︎ Bite size information that is easy to understand and apply to your new way of living. Each week is tailored to how our grieving minds can take in information.
❤︎ Focus on better understanding your personal grief experience through learning, explore all sorts of aspects of grief, regain connectedness to Loved Ones and adjust to everyday life.
❤︎ Various topics that include different ways of grieving, breaking down all the tasks that need to be done in the weeks, months and year after a death, coping strategies, remembering, and preparing for anniversaries and special days, just to name a few.
❤︎ Access beyond the first year of grief – Access the program for 15 months after your purchase…
I set out to create a thorough grief program… and I did just that for you.
***NOTE: THIS PROGRAM IS NOT INTENDED TO REPLACE MENTAL HEALTH COUNSELING. THIS IS A SELF-GUIDED PROGRAM. THE FACILITATOR’S ROLE IS THAT OF A GUIDE, COACH AND SUPPORTIVE COMPANION.
This program was created for YOU. Quality information can be tough to come by when you are searching to make sense of your grief. The internet is full of discussion groups that give partial information, are a collection of personal experiences, or simply opinion that may distract you from your own growth and empowerment.
I became a grief counselor back in 2009 after living with the loss of a number of important people in my life. By 2011, I started looking for a course like this… I was hearing from folks that they had all these barriers to getting the support they were seeking… time, location, work schedules, family obligations…. They were looking for something like this too… something flexible, something that would easily fit into their life at a time they were hurting so much.
Fast forward to now… I created this program to be a friend in grief for the after a death of someone in your life.
You may have some questions… let me help you out.
When do I start the First 52?
You start the program with the first Lesson. The program does follow a year… Week 1 is when you begin. Lessons are released every 4 days in order to help you digest and process the current lesson’s content. You will notice that you have a couple lessons available right away. Then the lessons follow a year…within the first month after a loss and will go through the anniversary of your Loved One’s death. There are only a few points when time is noted within the program. The lessons may not line up precisely with your current life situations. Return to any lessons as it applies in your life.
How long do I have access to the First 52?
You have access to the course for 15 months… This gives you over a year to stop and start as you grieve. Because each loss we experience is different, you can always go back to a topic when you need.
A note from Julie
Hello there,
You have found this program because of a profound loss in your life. There is nothing I can say that will change your current situation. However, I do have information that will help you at this time.
No two people grieve in the same way. There are things we can expect in grief and ways our life changes after the death of someone special. Even if you have experienced grief before, this grief will be different. There is no relationship like the one with your loved one. Even people in the same family will experience this loss in their own way.
It may seem that you will never feel better… I can tell you that I see people in severe despair that do eventually feel better. It takes time, a dedication to yourself, a commitment to your loved one that has died, and a trust in the process. I will share tools that work and you can use right away. I will not rush you in your grief. I will guide you through all sorts of topics to help you grow in your grief. I’m a new friend that you can count on.
Thank you for allowing me to walk beside you. By the end of the program, you will have a greater relationship with yourself. Your life is forever changed, YOU are now different too. Parts of you will always be within you… And it’s important to get back in touch with those parts. There are parts that are hurting, maybe overwhelmed, maybe even wondering what’s next for you. It takes time to work through these parts and the key is to go at a manageable pace. So, pay attention to yourself… go at your own pace. I’ll give you bite size pieces of information – if it’s too fast, go slower. This is your grief. I’m here beside you.
You can do this, my friend. My heart is with you.
Your Friend in Grief,
Julie
I’ll see you soon in the First 52.
