The WayFinders | Living with Traumatic Death
6-8 week experiential and educational traumatic grief support through the retelling of the story in creative, commemorative ways that lead to deeper healing, transformation, and resilience.
Learn new skills and tools through current trauma-informed education
Enhance emotional literacy and somatic processing for better coping strategies
Access memories that commemorate their life, while integrating their death
Build new external and internal skills and resources
Develop a sense of personal and relational integrity and well-being
The WayFinders: Program Overview
The WayFinders:
Living with Traumatic Death
When traumatic events hit us, everything changes. Feeling stuck, angry, powerless, overwhelmed, and alone, we may have difficulty moving through and integrating the event, or accessing positive memories of our loved one, or who we were before the trauma hit.
For those who have lost loved ones to traumatic deaths, their narrative is a powerful source of healing. The WayFinders bereavement support program offers solace and a pathway toward healing and recovery by holding a safe place to express all of the images, emotions, fears, and complexities you may be experiencing. Integration is possible by exploring the deeper story and addressing somatic and nervous system responses that have been frozen.
Death events may include:
Suicide or Homicide
Medical: Long-term Intense Experiences, or Covid-19
Accidental
Death by Drug Use
Mass Shootings (Acts of Terrorism)
Kind Words from Our Clients
Creating space between your pain and everyday life.
Everyone experiences the traumatic death of a loved one differently. They may believe that normalcy will be forever inaccessible to them, they may feel consumed, they may try to control everything in their power, and they may feel called to support others instead of seeking support for themselves.
Learning how to cope and live with violent or traumatic death is a journey. Incorporating support early on and finding a safe place to share your experience can help reduce long-term health repercussions such as post-traumatic stress, major depression, and substance or alcohol abuse.
Offering both individual and group programs, we walk through specific techniques to help witness, hold, and move through complex, painful, and intense emotions.
The WayFinders program is a powerful adjunct to your work with mental health providers. It focuses on helping to understand the differences between trauma and grief and provides a safe, non-judgemental shared space to navigate your journey. Over 6-8 weeks, we focus on distinct areas:
Somatic/mind-body exercises to calm the nervous system
Restoring resilience through emotional education and support
Introducing your person's life to others in the group
Processing distressing images of the death
Resources for continued support and connection
Learn More: The Program’s Roots
In the United States, more than seven people per hour die a violent death. In 2020, more than 25,000 people were victims of homicide and over 47,500 people died by suicide. It is estimated that from those numbers, there are an additional ten to twelve people connected to the victim who are significantly impacted by this loss. These numbers do not take into account returning soldiers and their families who have been impacted by violent death as well.
Dr. Edward K. Rynearson, MD was the first and leading theorist in violent death bereavement. He discerned that when we lose someone in a violent way, it is different in these possible aspects: (1) It is violent - a horrific death, (2) a violation - or wrongdoing, (3) it is volitional - an act done on purpose, and (4) often voyeuristic - with public exposure or news media.
In an unnatural death, there is:
No choice, time to prepare, or time for good-byes
Difficulty understanding the way they died
A violation of you and your loved one
Our WayFinders Program is a modified 6-8 week version based on the Restorative Retelling model, with the additional integration of current research on somatic exercises and techniques for toning the vagus nerve to heal traumatized nervous systems.
Group & Individual Formats Offered
The WayFinders: Living with Traumatic Death
Group (In Person)
Autumn 2024
8-wk Program: Oct 7th – Dec 2nd (no group on 11/25 week)
Mondays from 4-6pm (PST)
Have Questions Now? Schedule a 30min Free Consult
Ready to begin this program? Book your Initial Assessment now.
Autumn 2024 Group Facilitator: Rebecca Mullins, CMHC, CTRC
The WayFinders: Living with Traumatic Death
Individual (In Person or Online)
Custom Schedule
6-wk Program: Available to schedule year-round
Custom Scheduling - In-person or Online via Zoom
Have Questions Now? Schedule a 30min Free Consult
Ready to begin this program? Book your Initial Assessment now.
Individual Facilitator: Rebecca Mullins, CMHC, CTRC
Upcoming Groups for 2025:
The Winter 2025 Group - In-Person program date is yet to be scheduled, but will be confirmed by January 1st, 2025.
To keep updated on program dates and announcements, join our newsletter at the bottom of each page on the site.
“Grief is like a long winding valley where any bend may reveal a totally new landscape.”
— C.S. Lewis, British Novelist and Author of ‘A Grief Observed’
(Nov 29, 1898—Nov 22, 1963)