When we think of grief, we typically think of grieving the loss of life. However, grief takes many forms, has nearly countless sources, and has no time limit. In fact, a client may be grieving but not realize it because the cause was not a death. But, as humans, we grieve many types of loss. That’s why helping clients through grief of varying degrees and origins is something all coaches do.

To encourage you in this vital work, I invited grief coach, Krista St-Germain to share some of her insights and skills. She begins by relating her personal experiences that led her to grief coaching and then to becoming a coach herself. Then, throughout the episode, we discuss many of the myths, biggest challenges, and nuances about grief and coaching those experiencing grief. We hope this episode leads you both to identifying more forms of grief and to additional resources to help you care for your clients.

“They come to you thinking that the thing that happened has power over them. And what we can show them is that: No, actually, they get to choose how they want to feel about this thing that has happened. And that doesn’t mean that we have to choose to be happy. But that helps us start seeing the thing as less powerful and ourselves as more powerful.” – Krista St-Germain

What You’ll Learn

Krista’s personal experiences
Insides versus outsides
The biggest challenges when grief coaching
- Tiptoeing
- Holding space
- Observing differently
- Allowing alternatives to models
- Uncovering the real struggle
Doing better with supporting grief
Realizing we all fall in the pool at times
Bolstering our client’s power

Contact Info and Recommended Resources

The Grief Recovery Handbook
Krista’s podcast:
- Episode #45: For Those Who Love Us
- Episode #2: Myths of Grief

Connect with Krista St-Germain

Krista in her own words…

“When my husband was killed by a drunk driver, I was devastated.

Therapy helped me survive the tidal wave of grief and unfurl myself from the fetal position.

I went back to work. Everyone kept telling me how “strong” I was. I acted strong in front of my kids. But inside I felt hollow. All my dreams had included him.

I desperately wanted to believe I could still have a happy, fulfilling life but I wasn’t sure how. Then I began to research grief, trauma and healing extensively. I studied cognitive behavioral coaching and read every book I could find. I combined what I learned about Post Traumatic Growth with cognitive science based coaching tools and figured out how to turn my loss into a strategy for growth.

I learned to see myself as stronger because of what I’d been through instead of using it as a reason to stop dreaming.

I created a new life using small, manageable steps and techniques that made sense. The changes I experienced were so profound I became a Master Certified Life Coach and created a group coaching program for widows like us called Mom Goes On.”

Connect with Molly Claire

Molly specializes in her mom-centric coaching. She’s working on a new certification course - Advanced Certification in Motherhood and Family Life Coaching (Advanced Parenting Coach Training) - and that will be ready soon. Join the Waitlist HERE!

Work with Molly: mollyclaire.com/coaching
molly@mollyclaire.com
Get Molly’s bestselling book, The Happy Mom Mindset: mollyclaire.com/book
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