Summer Slumps & New Groups
- Grounded Grief
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
THE GROUNDED GRIEF NEWSLETTER | JULY 2026
Navigating the Summer Slump, Upcoming Groups & Workshops
GRIEF IN GOOD HANDS
🚨HAPPENING TONIGHT IN PORTLAND, OR
HAPPY HOUR FOR SAD PEOPLE:
An Unconventional Grief Circle
Hosted by Juniper Wong | MSW, LICSW
July’s Theme: Ambiguous Loss (the grief without a funeral)
The situationship that ghosted you. The marriage you thought you’d have versus the one you have. The kids you never had. The kids you did. The friends you drifted from. The body that used to work. The parents who never loved you the way you needed. The person you used to be. The dream that never came true.
Ambiguous loss doesn’t get a funeral. It’s not official, it doesn’t make sense, and it never fully closes. Because of this, it is often carried alone—with shame, with confusion, and with the nagging question: “Why am I still thinking about this?”
Not tonight. This month at Happy Hour for Sad People, Juniper is guiding a conversation about the losses that don’t get talked about—the ones with no death, no ceremony, and no official permission to grieve.
Bring the ache that doesn’t have a name. Come laugh, cry, and toast to it together.
When: Monday, July 27th at 7:00 PM
Where: Rhinestone PDX (2100 SE Clinton St, Portland, OR 97202)
Cost: $25 (sliding scale available)
Navigating the Summer Slump
GRIEF IN GOOD HANDS
Summer is often pitched as a time of endless ease, but the reality is usually much more complicated. For parents, the loss of school routines and the pressure to manufacture summer magic leaves zero margin for rest. For professionals, navigating coverage for team leaves, juggling back-to-back out-of-office blocks, and preparing for major fall program launches often means you are working twice as hard just to keep things afloat. For those navigating financial strain, the cultural expectation of picture-perfect summer travel can feel incredibly alienating.
When you add grief or the weight of caring for others to that mix, the season can feel uniquely exhausting and isolating. If you are needing a community to anchor yourself amidst the chaos this August, we're hosting two gatherings facilitated by Alyssa Rose. Drawing on her background as a somatic practitioner and death doula, Alyssa creates trauma-informed environments where you don't have to leave any part of your grief at the door.
Rewritten (In-Person, Portland OR) Sunday, August 9th | 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
At Nalu Kava
Parenting alone while navigating grief is a profound and often unseen challenge. Rewritten is a monthly, in-person gathering to grieve honestly and reclaim authorship of your story. Alyssa will guide the group through a grounding practice followed by an open sharing circle. You are always welcome to speak, or simply be witnessed in your silence. To protect the intimacy and safety of this group, registration is capped at 8-10 participants.
Held Holders (Virtual) Thursday, August 13th | 12:30 PM – 2:00 PM PDT
On Zoom
As helping professionals, it is easy to constantly carry the emotional weight of clients, but how do we tend to our own? Held Holders is a dedicated, 90-minute virtual grief ritual. Through guided somatic grounding and peer-led connection, you will have a protected peer group to process and lay down what you’ve been carrying. To maintain a close, supportive environment, this group is capped at 8-10 participants.
NAMED AMONG PORTLAND'S BEST THERAPISTS
We're so proud to announce that A.C. Caldwell was voted one of Portland’s top three therapists by Willamette Week readers! Thank you for recognizing A.C. and supporting our Grounded Grief community.
Learn more about our team and what keeps us grounded.
Wildfires & Grief
Another Reflection on Summer
By Katherine Hatch | Founder & Practice Lead
3-minute read
Summer is one of those seasons that can add layers of disappointment and complexity to a grief process. For some, the inability to match, or even care about, the supposed levity and lightness of this season brings a nagging reminder of how different one’s reality is. With this often comes a new depth of isolation.
The summer wildfire smoke is many things to each one of us, AND lately, I’ve noticed how much the ominous hues remind me of grief—how it can sneak in, without warning, to completely blanket us in the mire of it all. I am also struck by how similar the experience of the grief blanket lifting is to the feeling of waking to a blue sky after days of foreboding smoke—a new depth of gratitude for a deep breath and a break from heaviness.
I’m reminded that this is all not so simple—that grief is so much bigger than we give it credit for. It doesn’t just arrive to weigh us down—it also insists in its cyclical wisdom that we look up, take a long breath, find the blue sky, and feel different, even for a few moments at a time.
Grief is not one thing. It is not one experience. It is beyond emotion and, much of the time, beyond words. It is truly our innate process that offers up a way forward amidst what we cannot make sense of, control, or fix.
If you're looking for a space to practice this skill alongside others who understand, we are offering several unique spaces this month to do just that. From our new Rewritten community for solo parents and The Unscripted Heart drama therapy workshop, to a confidential space for helping professionals in Held Holders, and our ongoing Grief Walks (PDX & Maryland) and Happy Hour for Sad People—there is a place for your grief to be witnessed. You can find the details about these events and all others here, and we've included handy links below.
With warmth and solidarity,
Katherine & The Grounded Grief Team
P.S. New here? We send only thoughtful emails with reflections on grief and upcoming community events. Subscribe here to stay grounded with us.
Don't Miss Our Upcoming Events! |
REWRITTEN: A Grief-Literate Community
Sunday, August 9th and Sunday, September 13th | 10 AM-12 PM PDT
Nalu Kava Lounge Tea House | NE Portland
Grief doesn't end because parenthood continues. Facilitated by Alyssa Rose, B.A., LMT, Rewritten is a monthly, in-person gathering where single and solo parents come together to grieve honestly, parent fiercely, and reclaim authorship of their own story. Join us in creating a micro-village to grieve what has been lost and dream into what we long for.
HELD HOLDERS: A Grief Ritual Space
Thursday, August 13th and September 10th | 12:30-2 PM PDT
Virtual via Zoom
Join Alyssa Rose for a confidential peer space created for those in helping professions—a room where you are not the holder, you are the held. Because you are also navigating losses, and the accumulated weight of bearing witness to the pain of others. Here, you will not run into clients, and you can set down the clinical frame entirely. [Hold Your Spot]
THE PARENT CIRCLE: A Bi-Monthly Drop-In Support Space
Tuesday, September 8th and Tuesday, November 10th | 5:30-6:30 PM PDT
Virtual via Zoom
Lindsay Wooster-Halberg, MSW, LCSW creates a welcoming space for parents and caregivers who are supporting a grieving child. This group centers on your real, current questions—covering topics ranging from big emotions, grief and developmental milestones, challenging behaviors, rituals, schools, friendships, sibling dynamics and more.
THE UNSCRIPTED HEART: Using Play and Drama Therapy to Navigate Grief
Thursday, September 17th | 5:30-6:30 PM PDT (8:30-9:30 PM EDT)
Virtual via Zoom
Grief doesn't follow a script. Join facilitator Jodi Kanter, LGPC for an experiential workshop utilizing the tools of drama therapy to explore your relationship with loss: past, present, and still unfolding. Through theater exercises drawn from psychodrama and expressive arts, you'll work toward a more integrated sense of your grief in a spirit of play and supportive community.
Happy Hour for Sad People: An Unconventional Grief Circle
Last Monday of Every Month | 7:00 PM Pacific Time
Portland, Oregon
Grounded Grief x Rhinestone PDX have turned "Happy Hour for Sad People" into a monthly residency. Join Juniper Wong, MSW, LICSW every fourth Monday of the month for the grief circle you didn't know you needed...yup, at a bar.
Grounded Grief Walks PDX
Biweekly on Tuesdays from 12:30-1:30 pm Pacific Time
Portland, Oregon
Join the Grounded Grief Team for gentle outdoor grief group woods walks with space for quiet, conversation, and connection. Grief Counselors Katherine Hatch, MSW, LCSW, and Alyssa Rose, B.A., LMT, will be leading us on these walks.
Moving Grief Together: An Outdoor Walking Grief Support Group
Fridays from 9:00-10:00 am Eastern Time
Chevy Chase, Maryland
Join Tisha Washington, MSW, LMSW every Friday from 10:00-11:00 am Eastern for gentle outdoor grief group walks with space for quiet, conversation, and connection.
Coming October 1st: The Continuum
This new membership program is designed to provide an ongoing, dedicated space for support and connection. To ensure an intimate and intentional experience, our inaugural cohort will be limited to just 15–20 members. Keep an eye out for more details on how to secure your spot.
Community Care: Supporting Grief Access
We are frequently asked by community members: "How can I help make grief support more accessible in our community?"
We want everyone to have access to high-quality grief therapy, but financial barriers often stand in the way. If you have the capacity to give and wish to help, you can purchase a Community Supporter Badge to pay it forward. Your purchase is used directly to help us increase sliding-scale slots for individual therapy and offer more low-cost, low-barrier grief workshops and groups.
Grief isn't meant to be navigated in isolation. We're building a space that honors the messy, non-linear, and beautifully human experience of loss and life. Thank you for being part of it.
If this newsletter resonated with you, please share it with a friend—we appreciate you helping make our community just a wee bit bigger.
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