The Grief We Don’t Name
Aging, Change, & Our Mortality
- Average Rating:
- 583
- Speakers:
- David Kessler, MA, RN, FACHE | Paul Denniston, RYT 500
- Duration:
- 2 Hours
- Copyright:
-
20 Mar, 2026
- Product Code:
- NOS096669
- Media Type:
- Digital Seminar
- Access:
- Never expires.
Description
As we grow older, change often arrives as a slow accumulation of losses: empty nests, ending careers, changing roles, health shifts, and fading friendships. Grief lives here, in the daily aches and pains, in the moments we feel left behind, and in the first time we say, “I can’t do this anymore.” And yet, this grief often goes unspoken, dismissed as a natural process of living and aging. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to name, recognize, and guide your clients through the often-unacknowledged grief that comes with growing older. Along the way, you’ll learn how to bring presence, permission, awareness, and concrete tools to your work with transitions that don’t often receive rituals, recognition, or repair. With strategies and spaciousness, you’ll learn how to name what’s hard and honor the quiet grief of aging. You’ll also explore:
- Somatic practices to help clients express what words cannot always reach
- How to help clients manage grief in the body, including physical limitations, sensory changes, and medical diagnoses
- How aging often stirs up grief from earlier in life, and how to meet it with care
- How to make space in sessions for meaning and identity
CPD
Speaker
David Kessler, MA, RN, FACHE Related seminars and products
David Kessler, MA, RN, FACHE, is one of the world’s foremost experts on grief and the founder of Grief.com. He leads grief certification programs for professionals and online groups for those in grief. He’s the author of seven books, including Finding Meaning and his newest, Finding Meaning Workbook: Tools for Releasing Pain and Remembering with Love, as well as the coauthor of several books with Elisabeth Kübler-Ross and Louise Hay.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: David Kessler is the co‑founder and President Emeritus of Project Angel Food. He maintains employment relationships with HSBC – London and Tender Hearts Grief Support Group. He is a published author and receives royalties from his publications, as well as compensation for his work as a lecturer. In addition, David Kessler receives speaking honoraria and recording and book royalties from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: David Kessler has no relevant non-financial relationships.
Paul Denniston, RYT 500 Related seminars and products
Paul Denniston, RYT 500, is the founder of Grief Yoga, which he teaches to counselors, psychologists, and healthcare professionals. He certifies other yoga teachers in the Grief Yoga Teacher Training. He’s also the author of the bestselling book Healing Through Yoga: Transform Loss into Empowerment.
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Paul Denniston is the founder of Grief Yoga and has employment relationships with Core Power Yoga, The Yogi Tree, Esalen, 1440 Multiversity, and Kripalu Yoga Center. He receives royalties as a published author. He receives a speaking honorarium from Psychotherapy Networker and PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Paul Denniston has no relevant non-financial relationships.
Additional Info
Access for Self-Study (Non-Interactive)Access never expires for this product.
Objectives
- Identify at least three indicators of unspoken grief related to aging (e.g., role loss, functional decline, identity shifts)
- Apply two evidence-supported interventions to reduce distress and enhance meaning in clients navigating age-related change.
- Demonstrate three brief somatic/mind-body micro-interventions adapted for limited mobility to down-regulate arousal within five minutes.
Outline
Naming the Grief We Don’t Name
- Common unspoken losses in aging: role shifts, functional changes, social contraction, identity transitions
- Intake prompts to surface hidden grief without pathologizing
- Validating language that normalizes disenfranchised grief
Meaning, Identity, and Mortality
- Values and meaning prompts for life transitions
- Legacy and role-continuity exercises (e.g., brief letter, “meaning map”)
- Non-impositional stance toward existential and spiritual themes
Accessible Somatic Practices
- Gentle seated movement and breath work to support regulation
- Titration, pacing, and “stop/slow/safe” cues to prevent overwhelm
- Adapting for pain, balance issues, dizziness, and medical limitations
Session Integration and Ethics
- Simple session arc: acknowledge loss → regulate body → explore meaning → small action
- Micro-rituals and at-home practices clients can repeat
- Documentation language that honors unspoken grief
- Limitations of the research and potential risks
Target Audience
- Counsellors
- Social Workers
- Psychologists
- Psychotherapists
- Therapists
- Marriage & Family Therapists
- Addiction Counsellors
- Physicians
- Other Mental Health Professionals
Reviews
| 5 |
|
| 4 |
|
| 3 |
|
| 2 |
|
| 1 |
|
Overall: 4.8
Total Reviews: 583
Satisfaction Guarantee
Your satisfaction is our goal and our guarantee. Concerns should be addressed to info@pesi.co.uk or call 01235847393.
Please wait ...