Every morning when I wake up, I have this subtle tightness in my chest, and an indistinct sense of dread. You too? I think that’s pretty much of all of us right now... we're adjusting to pandemic life.

I miss the way things used to be… I miss warm hugs from good friends, outdoor concerts at sunset, and BBQs. I miss having trips to look forward to. I miss seeing my clients in-person, and I miss funny, inconsequential little things like high-fives and wearing fun lipstick colors (nobody will see my lipstick under a mask!), I won’t lie… I miss being able to drop my 5 year-old off at school, and I miss enjoying the quiet drive to my office (I see you… fellow parents of young children… I know there’s nothing quite like that quiet post-drop-off drive). I miss not worrying about the decisions my parents are making (are they being safe?), and I miss the peace of not being concerned about my friends who are doctors and nurses.

I miss what-once-was… I think we all do. What we’re really talking about here is grief.

I’m grieving. You’re grieving. Our clients are grieving. Every single one of us is grieving right now… we’re suffering a host of losses, ranging from deaths of loved ones, financial hardship, to trip cancellations. We’ve watched events suddenly disappear from our calendars, and we're isolated in a way we've never been before. Minority and at-risk groups have been hit particularly hard, and there's no end in sight... the amount of uncertainty in our lives is sad and stark.

We clinicians are seeing our clients grieve these losses in our sessions, and we can sometimes feel powerless. Here’s the thing: We’re not powerless- we have such a special and honored position in their lives, to work with them and help them adjust and recover from these losses.

Maybe we therapists just need a little direction about grief work, and to hear whether we’re doing it right.

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jill Johnson-Young, LCSW, on the topic of grief. She is the grief guru. Talking to Jill was like wrapping myself up in a cozy blanket… she’s warm, wise, and steadfast, and she’s got a wicked sense of humor. As I interviewed her, I realized that this interview needed to be a free CE course… my goodness, Jill’s got some WISDOM.

In the interview, she offers practical interventions and shares some relatable stories, and she even tells how she manages her own grief. (Not only does she do grief work with psychotherapy clients, she is married to a funeral director, and she adopts hospice animals… Jill’s like a grief jedi.) She’s just the kind of person we need to hear from.

I hope that this free CE course is helpful for you. You know, I guess this is part of how i’m working through my own grief… trying to keep this passion project moving forward. Hearing from you has been a real highlight for me, and, I can’t even express how fortunate I feel to get to connect with professionals like Jill and like you.

We’re all doing what we can do get by, aren’t we? Until next time, be well, my dear colleagues.

-Beth

Confused about what a CEU is, and why we don’t call these free CE courses ‘CEUs’ above? Read our blog entry about it here: What IS a CEU?