Grief Group Projects

Grief groups are support groups for individuals who are recovering from the loss of a loved one. They provide a comfortable and safe atmosphere for members to share their personal experiences with the rest of the group, and gain support from one another. Facilitators of grief groups often assign projects to the members so that they can work through their sadness, anger, denial and come to a point of acceptance and healing.

Journaling

• Journaling is a common grief group project that facilitators encourage group members to participate in. To journal means to write down your personal, private thoughts on a topic that is assigned. In grief groups, facilitators either dedicate time during the meeting session for everyone to journal, or give the group journaling homework to do on their own time. The act of journaling allows people to identify their feelings and write about the things that they experience while they grieve. This is helpful for the healing and recovery process because it gives people a way to express themselves -- privately -- without bottling up their emotions inside. Some journaling topics include "Why Am I Angry" and "What Makes me Smile."

Arts and Crafts

• Not everyone is capable of expressing themselves through words, so arts and crafts project allow people in grief groups to express themselves artistically. Art is a therapeutic approach to grief counseling that gives people a way to work through the complexities of their feelings by making pictures. Facilitators may assign the group a project to draw a picture of how they feeling using colors, or group members may be asked to draw a picture of something that makes them happy.

Magazine Mural

• A creative project idea for grief groups is to make a magazine mural on the wall where the meetings are held. The facilitator brings in magazines, scissors and tape. Each person in the group is given a magazine and instructed to cut out a picture of something that makes him happy. He is then to tape that image onto the wall. Group members watch the magazine mural grow and after a few weeks the group will have a wall of happy thoughts.

Balloon Release

• A balloon release project is where members of the grief group write notes to their lost loved ones, tie the small note to the string of a helium balloon and release the balloon into the air at the same time. This activity helps grievers get words left unspoken out so that they can continue the healing process.

A Helping Hand

• A group project for grief groups is to lend a helping hand to someone else in the community. An effective way for grievers to maintain their positive spirit is to help others in need. Facilitators often assign this project as homework, instructing that each person in the group lend a helping hand to at least one person in the community during the week. Then, they will all share their experience. It can be something as simple as helping an elderly woman to her car with groceries, or giving some money to a homeless person on the street. This project is meant to help grievers feel good by making others feel good.