About Grief Healing Discussion Groups

Offered by Hospice of the Valley, our Grief Healing Discussion Groups site is specifically designed to address your individual needs.  You can participate in forums that are separate and distinct from one another, according to your specific kind of loss: the loss of a spouse, partner or significant other; the loss of a child, parent, grandparent, sibling or friend; or the loss of a cherished companion animal.  Also included are forums for behaviors in bereavement; anticipatory grief and mourning; teens talking to teens; poetry of grief and loss; the latest news; general grief and loss topics; and new beginnings.  You can join in the discussions in any of our forums or start a new topic of your own. 

These forums are privately administered and professionally monitored and moderated to ensure the highest level of quality, safety and security for our participants.  (To verify our moderator's qualifications and professional credentials, click here.) 

Membership is free, but will require that you register with a unique user name (not your "real" name) and secret password of your own choosing.   Bear in mind that whatever you post on our site will be visible to anyone who visits the site.  In order to protect your privacy (and prevent Internet search engines such as Google from finding you here), please do not use your "real" name as your display name. 

We hope that you will decide to join us!  Simply click on Grief Healing Discussion Groups, then click on "Register" next to the "Welcome Guest" greeting at the top of the page, and follow the instructions there.  (After you register, remember to bookmark the location as one of your favorite places.  Use your browser's "Back" button to return to this page.)

Why offer on-line discussion groups?

Studies have shown that the more support and understanding we have around us, the better we'll cope with our grief, and the sooner we'll come to terms with our loss. Recent research indicates that message boards offering online grief support can be very effective, provided that they are professionally monitored and moderated. 

The Grief Healing Discussion Groups offer yet another way for those of us who are bound by the experience of loss to learn more about what is normal in grief, and to communicate directly with one another so that everyone can benefit from the same information. It is our hope that by posting, reading and responding to the messages written here, we'll all come to a greater understanding of each other's grief and loss, and learn to be more caring, accepting and tolerant of one another.

You are cordially invited to use these forums to give words to your grief and express whatever you feel a need to say. You can ask questions to learn more about the normal grieving process, and you can talk with others about the ones you have loved and lost. You can share stories about your loved ones, say what was so special about them, express and work through your feelings, get your concerns and reactions validated, exchange helpful suggestions and ideas for coping with grief, or reflect with one another on the meaning of it all.

Bear in mind that whatever material you post on the site is visible to the public.  If you wish to share helpful or inspirational material written by someone else, please do your best to identify and credit your sources.

Are there any "ground rules"?

Messages will be monitored for appropriateness, and we reserve the right to remove any posting deemed to be repetitive, inappropriate, objectionable, insulting, disrespectful or intolerant of another's loss or point of view.  Duplicate posts (posting the same message more than once, or in several different forums) is not permitted.  Disagreements are acceptable, but our visitors are expected to treat one another with all the dignity, respect and caring we all deserve.  We are sensitive to the wide variety of cultural practices and spiritual beliefs that make up our entire membership.  Since everyone's experience of grief is unique to the individual, and our members may be at different places in their own grief journey, we realize that what is comforting to one person could be experienced as offensive to someone else.  When we share with one another, we recognize that whatever is said to one person is intended to be read by everyone.  If we have something to say to one person that cannot or should not be shared with everyone, we must consider carefully whether it should be said at all.  We do not share any personal information that we don't want everyone else to know (phone numbers, addresses, etc.)    Product promotion and other forms of advertising are not permitted on the site.

What if you need technical assistance?

If you're having difficulty and need help using the features of the site, first click on the Help link at the top of the site's main page.  If you need further assistance, please contact the site's moderator via e-mail (tousleym@aol.com) or Hospice of the Valley's Help Desk (helpdesk@hov.org).  

If you wish to contact someone about your member account, contact the site's moderator (tousleym@aol.com) or Hospice of the Valley's Help Desk (helpdesk@hov.org).     

If you think the moderator should be aware of the existence of a post or a topic and you wish to report it, use the Report button that appears at the base of that post.

If you find that the site is down or isn't functioning properly, please contact the site's moderator (tousleym@aol.com), Hospice of the Valley's Help Desk (helpdesk@hov.org), or notify Hospice of the Valley at 1510 E. Flower Street, Phoenix, AZ 85014, Telephone: 602-530-6900.  

What if you are in crisis?

This site is not intended for individuals who are in crisis and actively contemplating suicide.  If you're thinking of suicide, read this first.  If you are experiencing serious suicidal thoughts that you cannot control, please stop now and telephone 911 or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255).