Grow with Your Grief
by Chaplain Julia Rajtar, MAPS, BCC In a grief group, a bereaved woman frequently asked, “How long does grief last?” As the group facilitator, I felt my anxiety increase, as...
READ MORE
Sorrow and Hope – a Map for the New Year
by Julia Rajtar, MAPS, BCC As much as I wanted the world to stand still while I was grieving, I discovered that it did not. Like time, people kept...
READ MORE
Children and Funeral Rituals: Attending and Participating
by Chaplain Julia Rajtar, MAPS, BCC During the pandemic, the gathering ritual of a funeral, celebration of life, or service of remembrance was suspended for the safety and well-being...
READ MORE
Holidays, Family Gatherings, Solitude and Grief
by Julia Rajtar, MAPS, BCC It’s that time of the year again when we begin wondering who will make the turkey, or who will host the holiday, how will...
READ MORE
Talking to Kids about Death
by Julia Rajtar, M.A.P.S., BCC A 4-year-old boy kept asking his parents when grandpa was returning to play with him. Every day, the boy was playing outside the house...
READ MORE
Moving Beyond Coping & Surviving As We Mourn and Grieve
by Julia Rajtar, M.A.P.S., BCC After a loss, how do you move beyond coping and surviving to being transformed and thriving? Ben Wolfe, M.Ed., L.I.C.S.W., FT, and a presenter...
READ MORE
Voicing your Grief through Writing
Chaplain Julia Rajtar, BCC, MAPS When was the last time you wrote a letter? Writing a letter to your deceased loved one, is one way bereaved have found valuable...
READ MORE
Grief: Experienced and Defined
By Chaplain Julia Rajtar, MAPS, BCC “I miss my parents so much. I miss talking with them, seeking their guidance, I miss our Tuesday night dinners, and each...
READ MORE
Talking with Children and Teens after a School Shooting or other Tragic Events
Chaplain Julia Rajtar, MAPS, BCC with Resources from the Dougy Center An occurrence that has become way too frequent in our society is the reality of death by gunshot...
READ MORE
Helping Your Grieving Children and Teens
Do you struggle with knowing how to help your grieving children or teens? Are there questions you would like to ask a professional? The upcoming grief event held by Bakken...
READ MORE
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day
It’s already started, the tv commercials to remember your mom on mother’s day, or the ads on line or in the paper, or the Facebook photo reminders of a year...
READ MORE
Grief Theories: What do you mean we don’t follow stages of grief anymore?…
by Julia Rajtar, MAPS, BCC How do we make sense of the nature of grief and our reactions to it? When Elizabeth Kubler-Ross developed her work on stages of...
READ MORE